Celine Dion was greeted by a huge crowd as she arrived in Paris on Friday ahead of her comeback to the stage.
The superstar, 58, looked emotional during her first public appearance in two years as she waved and blew kisses to fans gathered outside Hotel Le Royal Monceau.
Looks chic in a camel color trench coat and heeled boots, Celine hid behind her dark sunglasses and beamed as she posed for photos.
Celine is gearing up for her miraculous return to the stage, three years after canceling her world tour due to a debilitating battle with stiff person syndrome.
Having performed just once in the past six years, she exposed the cruelty of the condition in her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
Her last public appearance was the same year when she sang at an Elie Saab fashion event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
She now returns to the stage this fall with a ten-day residency in Paris, which she has since extended by popular demand.
Celine Dion was greeted by a huge crowd as she arrived in Paris on Friday ahead of her comeback to the stage
The superstar, 58, looked emotional during her first public appearance in two years as she waved and blew kisses to fans gathered outside Hotel Le Royal Monceau.
Celine opened up Harper’s Bazaar this month about how she’s been preparing for the shows, along with the insecurities she’s overcome since her diagnosis.
The My Heart Will Go On singer has been preparing for her shows with a rigorous training schedule, which includes 90-minute Pilates sessions three times a week and ballet classes with a local company twice a week.
‘It is a progressive condition. I don’t like saying ‘disease’. Sickness makes you go like that,” she said, turning up her nose and saying, “Kevin, you’re such a sick person.”
The interview was conducted in a recording studio at the Palms Casino Resort, a room furnished with an array of fitness equipment including weights, a treadmill, a reformer machine and a ballet barre where Dion stretched out.
After years of symptoms, Celine was diagnosed with SPS in 2022 after experiencing a flare-up in 2020, at the same time as the pandemic began.
She isolated herself from fans for three years, partly motivated by the fear that her fans would assume she was living a happy, full life and still canceling shows.
She also developed an appreciation for nature during this time.
“I love trees so much, and I had a vision of trying to make myself disappear through the leaves,” she said.
The trees were dry because it was autumn, a visual image that Dion saw as a metaphor for her own struggles.
“I tried to tell them, I’m sorry, I don’t have any more apples to give you,” she said, until a voice told her, “But we didn’t come for the apples; we came for the tree.’
The last time Celine stood on the podium was at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Looking chic in a camel trench coat and heeled boots, Celine hid behind her dark sunglasses, beaming as she posed for photos
Celine prepares for her miraculous return to the stage, three years after canceling her world tour due to a debilitating battle with stiff person syndrome
Having performed just once in the past six years, she exposed the cruelty of the condition in her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
Now she is preparing to return to the stage with a packed practice schedule during a period she describes as falling and getting back up again and again.
“It’s been so long, I’d like to give them something to show them how much I’ve missed them,” she said.
Celine has missed her fans, who she knows very well are the reason for her success.
“They paid for tickets,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. ‘They bought my records. They gave me that luxury. So the least I can do is tell them I’m still alive.’
She’s now ready to get back to work, even the more annoying things that come with being a pop star.
“Well, girl,” says Celine, addressing herself but talking to the reporter, “if you don’t want to sign autographs and make yourself pretty and don’t want to be disturbed because your pasta’s going to get cold, you can always stay home. But look what you’ve got.’
In March, the pop icon announced that she will play a ten-night residency at the 40,000-capacity La Défense Arena in Paris in September and October.
During the announcement on her birthday, she called her comeback “the best gift of my life.”
She said in a video: ‘I’m so ready. I feel good, I’m strong, I feel excited, of course, [and] of course a little nervous.
‘I’m doing great, managing my health and feeling good. I’m singing again, and even doing a little dancing.
“But I have to tell you something very important: for the past few years, every day that has passed, I have felt your prayers and support, your kindness and love. I am grateful to all of you. I can’t wait to see you again.”
She has since added additional dates due to “overwhelming demand,” adding another 10 shows in the month of May.
“I’d like to give them something to show them how much I’ve missed them,” the music icon told Harper’s Bazaar; pictured 2016
Stiff Person Syndrome is a rare neurological condition that causes ‘muscle stiffness and painful spasms that come and go and can worsen over time’ – and Dion has previously detailed how this affected her signature singing.
The My Heart Will Go On hitmaker first revealed in 2022 that she was suffering from SPS and canceled her remaining tour dates at the time.
In a video uploaded to her Instagram page at the time, the singer had emotionally explained, “Unfortunately, these spasms are affecting every aspect of my daily life.
‘Sometimes this causes problems when walking and I cannot use my vocal chords to sing as I normally do.
She added: ‘I’m working hard every day with my sports medicine doctor to build my strength and my ability to perform again, but I have to admit it’s been a struggle.
‘All I know is to sing. It’s what I’ve done all my life, and it’s what I love to do most,” the mother of three continued.
Last May, Celine, who also shared a moving message during the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals, gave a health update during an interview with Vogue, saying her ‘happiness has returned’.
She continued, “It’s been a big burden on my shoulders, and a lot of that weight is gone… because now all I can focus on is reality. That’s great.’
And during an appearance on Today, also last year, the artist said, “I believe in myself, in my courage,” adding that she won’t let the disorder “control my life.”
‘I’m going on stage because I’m ready. And my vocal chords aren’t going to scare me, because I’m going to be ready, and I’m going to hit those notes.”
