Céline Dion sings at Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony

Céline Dion sang at the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday, marking her first public performance since 2020.

The Games saved Dion for the end of the four-hour-long event, when she performed French singer Edith Piaf’s 1950 song Hymne à l’amour from the balcony of the glowing Eiffel Tower after the Olympic torch was lit. 

The My Heart Will Go On singer, who has won five Grammys and 20 Juno Awards, stepped away from the spotlight in 2022 after being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, which severely limited her movement and hampered her ability to sing and perform.

The documentary I Am: Celine Dion, released in June, followed Dion’s journey to recovery and her hopes of singing live again.

WATCH | Team Canada floats by in opening ceremony:

Team Canada floats by on the Seine at Paris 2024 opening ceremony

Watch Team Canada’s entrance during the Paris 2024 opening ceremony.

Rumors had been swirling for days that Dion would perform after she was spotted Tuesday outside Le Royal Monceau hotel in Paris, greeting fans and posing for pictures, and French President Emmanuel Macron and other officials spoke about her arrival.

A French journalist posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Dion and Lady Gaga had rehearsed a different Piaf song, La vie en Rose, together as a duet.

Dion posted on Instagram Wednesday, writing, “Every time I return to Paris, I remember there’s so much beauty and joy still to experience in the world.”