Olympics-Dion makes return to live stage in Paris opening ceremony

By Julien Pretot

PARIS (Reuters) -Celine Dion made a comeback to the live stage on Friday singing Edith Piaf's classic "L'Hymne A l'Amour" to close the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

"In the ceremony we have a love anthem and that's L'Hymne A l'Amour. We all wanted to finish the show with this song and our first idea was very simple and clear. We wanted to ask the best singer to sing love and this is Celine Dion," artistic director Thomas Jolly told Reuters.

"It was obvious for us to ask her to do that to close the ceremony."

The 56-year-old singer said in late 2022 that she had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome that causes muscle spasms.

The syndrome causes muscle rigidity and increased sensitivity to sound, touch and emotional stimuli that can trigger spasms. The condition led the multiple Grammy winner to cancel all of her tour dates for 2023 and 2024.

The Canadian singer, who started her career singing in French, had not performed live since March 2020, when she appeared in New Jersey.

"How proud we are! Our Celine singing Edith Piaf's L'hymne à l'amour at the Opening Ceremonies of the Paris Olympic Games," Quebec Premier Francois Legault wrote on X.

"A proud Quebecer from Charlemagne is on stage at the Opening Ceremony! Celine Dion is a Canadian icon, an incredible talent, and she overcame a lot to be there tonight," Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X.

"Celine, it’s great to see you singing again."

Dion, best known for the "Titanic" movie theme song "My Heart Will Go On", was first spotted in Paris on Tuesday, triggering speculation that she would be part of Friday's extravaganza.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Alison Williams and Pritha Sarkar)