Canadian superstar Celine Dion has returned to the stage for her first full concert in six years.
The 58-year-old singer kicked off her sell-out Paris residency on Saturday, September 12, at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, near Paris.
Wearing a strapless black gown, she opened the show with her French-language ballad “On ne change pas” and was seen tearing up as fans chanted her name. She was visibly emotional as she made her comeback after battling Stiff Person Syndrome.
“I have to admit, the path was rockier than expected, the journey longer than expected, with unplanned stopovers, but I held on to a faint ray of light in the distance,” she told the audience.
“And now, the sun is here, the sun is in front of me. So tonight, I want to sing for you, sing for myself, sing for life.”
Dion had announced in 2022 that she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes stiffness and muscle spasms, which forced her to cancel her Courage World Tour and withdraw from public life. Her only major appearance since was at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she sang Edith Piaf from the Eiffel Tower.
One of the best-selling music artists of all time, she is due to perform a series of 26 concerts over the next eight months. The current run includes 16 sold-out shows in September and October, with another 10 scheduled for May 2027.
The concerts were unveiled on her 58th birthday in March and are expected to draw fans from around the world, with about 30,000 fans at the opening night.
Since her arrival in Paris for preparations, fans have waited for hours outside her luxury hotel, singing her hits.
