advertisement
Music News

Celine Dion Delivers Show-Stopping Performance From the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Paris Olympics

The performance of Édith Piaf's "Hymne A L'Amour" marks the Canadian icon's long-awaited on-stage comeback.

Céline Dion en una función especial del documental "I Am: Celine Dion" en Nueva York, el 17 de junio de 2024 en el Alice Tully Hall.

Céline Dion en una función especial del documental "I Am: Celine Dion" en Nueva York, el 17 de junio de 2024 en el Alice Tully Hall.

Kristina Bumphrey

After rumors that Celine Dion would be returning to the stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the iconic chanteuse delivered a jaw-dropping performance at the games’ opening ceremony on Friday (July 26).

The superstar performed an emotional rendition of Édith Piaf’s “Hymne A L’Amour” from the Eiffel Tower, which was sparkling and lit with the Olympic rings. Accompanied by a piano and rocking a stunning white gown, the singer delivered her effortlessly flawless vocals as she belted the lyrics to the 1950 track, which translates to “The Hymn of Love.”


The performance marks Dion’s first since she cancelled the dates on her North American Courage world tour before revealing she is fighting Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes severe muscle spasms.

advertisement

Dion previously seeded hope for her return to the stage in her recent Prime Video doc I Am: Celine Dion, in which she said of her determination to perform again: “If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl… I won’t stop.” She was also spotted earlier this week greeting fans in Paris outside Royal Monceau hotel near the Champs-Élysées.

It’s hardly her first time on the Olympic stage. She previously performed “The Power of the Dream” at the opening ceremony for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Elsewhere in the ceremony, the Olympic cauldron was lit following a months-long torch relay, in which Snoop Dogg, BTS’ Jin and Pharrell Williams participated. Earlier in the day, Lady Gaga took the stage to perform a cabaret-style rendition of the French-language “Mon Truc en Plume” (“My Thing With Feathers”) in a minutes-long, highly choreographed routine.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

advertisement
Amber Still, executive director of the Polaris Music Prize
Johanna Stickland

Amber Still, executive director of the Polaris Music Prize

Awards

‘Protect the Prize’: The Polaris Music Prize Undergoes Its Biggest Period of Change

Now entering its third decade, the Canadian critic’s prize has expanded its voting pool, adjusted to financial constraints and expanded to award both albums and songs. After years defined by its refined focus, the changes mark a major expansion of the organization’s mission.

In 2025, the Polaris Music Prize celebrated its 20th anniversary. Entering its third decade, the award is undergoing what might be its biggest period of change. From funding to voting process, the organization is continuing to evolve.

The cultural not-for-profit organization has spent the better part of two decades creating a space in the industry for Canadian acts to be recognized based solely artistic merit, rather than sales, genre or support from a record label. Founded in the 2000s as Canada's answer to the Mercury Prize, the organization became a registered Canadian charity in 2017.

keep readingShow less
advertisement