In her first stage appearance since the Olympics, Celine Dion gave an emotional speech about hope and strength.
Canadian singer Céline Dion (56) made her first stage appearance since the Olympic Games on Tuesday evening at the City of Hope organization’s “Spirit of Life Gala” in Los Angeles. The musician, who has been suffering from so-called stiff person syndrome since August 2022, received a standing ovation for her moving speech.
“This is the first time I’ve been on a stage since I was on this tower. And I kind of miss it,” Dion explained, referring to her spectacular performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in July, where she was from Eiffel Tower from Édith Piaf’s “Hymne A L’Amour”.
For Celine Dion, this is the meaning of hope
At the gala, the 56-year-old presented the “Spirit of Life Award” to Jay Marciano, chairman of AEG Presents. In her laudatory speech, she emphasized the important work of the City of Hope organization, which is dedicated to cancer research and treatment: “City of Hope does so much more than just important research for new treatments. The organization cares for people in their greatest need, in the most difficult and challenging moments of their lives.”
The five-time Grammy winner, who has rarely appeared in public since her diagnosis, also spoke about personal challenges: “I know that in our wonderful life full of family, joy and love, we also face tremendous challenges and great tests of our faith and strength can be confronted.”
Return to the spotlight
The singer made her diagnosis public in December 2022. Stiff person syndrome is a rare autoimmune nervous system disorder that causes muscle stiffness in the trunk and abdomen. It wasn’t until July that she celebrated a much-noticed comeback with her appearance at the Olympic opening ceremony.
She shared her joy at returning to the stage on Instagram at the time: “I’m honored to have performed at the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 tonight and overjoyed to be back in one of my favorite cities!”
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
