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Celine Dion Gives Once-in-a-Lifetime Performance at Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony
The world waited, and Celine Dion delivered when she flawlessly sang a French classic from the the Eiffel Tower.
Legendary singer Celine Dion gave nothing short of a gold medal musical performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony – one viewers won’t soon forget.
The five-time Grammy Award-winning Dion dazzled in a silvery-white gown from high up on Paris’ Eiffel Tower, belting out the ever-romantic “Hymne á l’amour” while accompanied by the piano. Millions watched the “My Heart Will Go On” vocalist perform, fulfilling her goal of wanting to see the historic landmark again, as she said in an April 2024 interview with French Vogue.
“I want to be the best I can be,” she said. “My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!”
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The towering show was a testament to the singer’s strength as she battles Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder that causes stiffening muscles and pain.
What did Celine Dion Sing?
Dion gave her flawless rendition of a famous French classic, “Hymne à l’amour” (A Hymn to Love) by the beloved French singer Édith Piaf.
The ballad was released in 1950 and speaks of doing anything and everything for love, with lyrics (translated) such as: If the sky should fall, and the earth may well collapse, it doesn’t matter if you love me.
Piaf recorded an English version of the song in 1956 for the album La Vie En Rose, and it was re-released in 1996 with more of Piaf’s English-speaking greatest hits.
The bleeding-heart song was later covered by Cyndi Lauper in 2003.
More about Celine Dion’s participation in the Opening Ceremony
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Celine Dion would be one of several big names at the Opening Ceremony, as previously reported. Speculation only grew when the French-Canadian singer flew on a private plane from Las Vegas to France, landing in Paris’ Le Bourget early morning on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
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However, the 2024 Games wasn’t her first time performing at the widely watched kickoff event. For the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, she sang “The Power of the Dream” — a song created specifically for the Games, according to Deadline — which raked in a whopping 3.5 billion viewers globally, as reported by Variety.
More recently, she and legendary actor Michael J. Fox — who is also Canadian — narrated a video called “L’invincible Courage” in support of Canadians in the Olympics, as published in April 2024 on CBC’s Radio-Canada.
“I am inspired by the stories of these athletes,” said Dion. “I am so excited to see what each of them will accomplish when they are in action in Paris this summer. They already inspire me, and I hope they will inspire the world.”
