Céline Dion to return to concert stage with Paris residency this fall

It's Cé run along Dion's 58th natal day, but it's her worshipful fans who may be receiving the biggest gift of all — her take back to the concert represent. 

In a video posted on her Instagram account Monday, Dion confirmed she will perform two concerts a week from Sept. 12 to Oct. 14 in the City of Light. 

She'll return to the stage at the Paris La Défense Arena, which has a capacity of 40,000 people. 

"It’s been kind of hard keeping it a secret," Dion said in the video, which she said was the first time she had ever recorded her own birthday message.

"This year, I'm getting the best gift of my life. I'm getting the chance to see you, to perform for you once again, in Paris."

"I'm so ready to do this," she said. "Happy birthday to me."

The pre-sale will begin on April 7, with general ticket sales starting on April 10.

Quebec-born Dion was forced to cancel her Courage World Tour dates in 2022 when she revealed her long battle with stiff person syndrome — a condition that affected her ability to sing — and ultimately scuttled the tour in 2023.

The tour had already been postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after playing the first 52 shows.

She wouldn't sing publicly again until July 2024, when she performed Eith Piaf's Hymn to Love from the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the summer Olympic Games in Paris and again that November at a fashion show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, honouring the 45-year career of designer Elie Saab.

Dion says her fans have kept her going throughout her health struggles and recovery.

"Even in my most difficult times, you were there for me," she said. "You’ve helped me in ways I can't even describe." 

Catherine Pearson, a Dion tribute artist who lives near Montreal, says the announcement is a "benediction" for fans like her around the world. 

"All that we want is just to see her face, to hear her voice."

Céline Dion returns to stage at Olympics opening ceremony

The speculation about the My Heart Will Go On and It's All Coming Back to Me Now singer's return to performing has been building in recent days. 

Last week posters with some of Dion's lyrics and song titles in black cursive lettering, including lines from Power of Love and Encore en soir, popped up across the French city, spurring excitement among fans online.

Overnight Monday, France’s BFMTV broadcast CCTV footage of what looked like a nighttime rehearsal, with the Eiffel Tower, sparkling blue, displaying the words "Céline Dion," "Paris" and "I am ready."

La Tour Eiffel s'illumine pour le grand retour de Céline Dion <a href="https://t.co/Il7rlMWUnY">pic.twitter.com/Il7rlMWUnY</a>

Dion's Instagram account recently posted a series of photos of herself in Paris over the years, with a caption in French that translates to "I don't know how to tell you..." 

On Monday, ahead of the announcement, her account was wiped clean until the video announcement appeared around 3 p.m. ET.

Posters spark rumour of Céline Dion comeback in Paris

Stiff person syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that affects about one or two people per million. 

According to Dr. Scott Newsome, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins Stiff Person Syndrome Centre who explains the autoimmune disease in a video on the facility's website, it's a progressive condition with no clear cause.

Newsome says it shows up initially as a painful rigidity in muscles, causing spasms and imbalance. He says the syndrome often causes rigidity in the torso, lower back, abdominal and leg areas, affecting gait and balance.

Dion said she began experiencing symptoms of the illness back in 2008, when she first felt spasms in her vocal cords.  

But she told Arsenault she persevered through her treatment and rehabilitation with the mantra, "I'll sing again."

Céline Dion: I Will Sing Again | Adrienne Arsenault Reports

Senior Writer

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