Celine Dion announces triumphant return to the stage in Paris, despite illness

BarcelonaThe Eiffel Tower lit up in lilac and a message in several languages: "Je suis prête", "I'm ready". This is how Canadian singer Céline Dion has announced her return to the stage, despite the serious illness diagnosed in 2022 that had forced her to cancel the European tour in 2023 and to retire. Dion will offer ten concerts in Paris, starting in September. She also announced it on social media coinciding with her 58th anniversary.

Céline Dion suffers from a rare and incurable neurological disease called stiff-person syndrome which, as she explained in a documentary on Prime Video, causes her uncontrolled spasms and stiffness, including in her vocal cords. The singer requires constant palliative care and high doses of medication, and has been living in seclusion at her home all this time. In the documentary, she appeared vulnerable yet combative with the illness, in an unexpected and unwanted farewell to the stage.

Now, however, the singer seems to be able to control the disease because she has stated that she is "great": "I am strong, I am singing a lot again and even dancing a little." "These past few years there hasn't been a day that I haven't felt your support and love —she tells her fans—. I miss you." That's why she is announcing concerts, and assures: "I am happy, a little nervous, but I am ready to do this." The concerts will take place at La Défense Arena, with a capacity for 40,000 people, between September 12 and October 14. Again, like Shakira's case in Madrid, a European residency which, in Dion's case, will not offer any other concerts outside of Paris.

Paris had been living the announcement of her return for days, with mysterious posters scattered throughout the city featuring titles of her songs. Dion's last major public appearance was precisely singing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and already fueled rumors about a comeback. Her appearances had been scarce, for example at an Adele concert, but her last major solo concert dates back to the spring of 2020, in New York, on a tour that had to be suspended due to the pandemic.