In the history of the Olympics, a handful of images from opening ceremonies have stood the test of time.
For Americans, think boxing icon Muhammad Ali lighting the cauldron in Atlanta in 1996—or the Miracle on Ice men's ice hockey team doing so six years later in Salt Lake City.
On Friday, Paris got its stop-the-presses moment. At the close of the Olympic opening ceremony—following the lighting of an airborne cauldron—singer Celine Dion took the stage to sing the iconic French song, "Hymne à l'amour."
Celine Dion #Paris2024 #Olympics #Olympic2024 pic.twitter.com/3f8Pm0qqrE
— Celine Dion Icon (@celinedionlcon) July 26, 2024
The performance marked Dion's comeback after her much-publicized battle with stiff-person syndrome—a rare neurological disorder—over the last two years.
Dion, a native of Charlemagne, Quebec, is the best-selling Francophone artist in the history of recorded music. She previously performed her song "The Power of the Dream" at the opening ceremony for the Atlanta Olympics in '96.
Even that performance 28 years ago, however, pales next to one that instantly took its place in the annals of the Olympics.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Celine Dion Concludes Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony With Breathtaking Performance.
