Dion’s performance in Paris was her first live performance since her serious neurological illness was revealed. The global star announced in 2022 that she was suffering from the so-called stiff person syndrome. The disease can lead to muscle spasms anywhere in the body, causing your hands or feet to freeze. She has problems walking and singing. At that time, the singer canceled all dates on her “Courage World Tour” in Europe. For a long time it was questionable whether she would ever be able to perform again.
Tribute to Edith Piaf
Dion then stood on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in a silver-white, glittering dress. She sang Piaf’s iconic hymn to love with great fervor, accompanied by a pianist. “I’m honored to have performed at the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 tonight,” Dion wrote on the X platform afterwards, “and I’m filled with joy to be back in one of my favorite cities.”
The five-time Grammy winner, who became a global star in the 1990s and set a number of records with the Titanic title song “My Heart Will Go On,” spoke about her life with the rare autoimmune disease in a TV interview in June. She described the severe cramps in her throat as feeling like she was being strangled. She fights the disease with physiotherapy, singing training and medication.
