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French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra has sparked further speculation about the possibility of Celine Dion giving a surprise performance at the Olympic Games in Paris.
It was reported on Wednesday (23 July) that the “My Heart Will Go On” singer is currently staying at a hotel in central Paris, fuelling rumours that she may perform for the first time since 2022 at the opening ceremony for the games.
Appearing on French channel TF1’s Bonjour breakfast show, Oudéa-Castéra said the singer’s presence in the French capital was “not by chance”.
While she did not give a definitive answer, Oudéa-Castéra said: “There are a multitude of possible roles in an opening ceremony.”
She also refused to answer questions about whether Lady Gaga will perform, after the “Bad Romance” singer was also spotted in the French capital.
So far, only French singer Aya Nakamura is on the line-up to perform at the opening ceremony, while the remaining details are being kept under wraps.
If Dion were to perform, it would mark her first onstage comeback since she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), a rare and incurable neurological condition that often causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms.
She revealed she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in December 2022, and subsequently cancelled her world tour.
However, the singer teased a comeback in April, telling Vogue France: “The way I see it, I have two choices. Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it’s over, I stay at home, listen to my songs, stand in front of my mirror and sing to myself.
“I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be. My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!”
On Monday (22 July), just ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday (29 July), Dion arrived at the Royal Monceau Hotel near the Champs-Élysées, where Gaga, is also staying, Variety reported.
Since her diagnosis in 2022, Dion has been raising awareness of SPS, and recently released her own documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, which provides an honest behind-the-scenes look at her life with SPS.
She spoke about the effect the illness has on her voice, saying in the film: “17 years ago I started to experience some voice spasming, this is the way it started.
“I woke up one morning and I had my breakfast, and after having my breakfast, my voice started to go up,” she recalled.
“It freaked me out a little bit, because normally when you’re tired as a singer because you did a show the night before, your voice would go roughly half a key down or one note down.”
In one affecting scene towards the end of the documentary, Dion returns from the studio where she has been attempting to record the title track from 2023 film Love Again, when her muscles begin to cramp while she is receiving physiotherapy.
The singer is heard crying out in pain as she is turned onto her side and her therapist calls for help as the crisis worsens. Dion gave her permission for the cameras to keep rolling, to show the reality of the illness.
“Every time something like this happens, it makes you feel so embarrassed and like… I don’t know how to express it. Like you don’t have control of yourself, you know?” she says, as she recovers from the seizure.
Dion made a rare public appearance at the Grammy Awards in February while presenting the Album of the Year award. The audience immediately gave her a standing ovation when she arrived onstage, with some stars singing along to her acclaimed hit “The Power of Love” as it played in the background.
More recently, she has been making more public appearances. On 29 June, she made an unannounced appearance onstage at the 2024 National Hockey League Draft in Las Vegas, and announced the selection of the Montreal Canadians.
