Spotted in Paris in recent days, the Charlemagne-born singer closed the ceremony by performing Hymne à l'amour by Édith Piaf on the first floor of the famous French monument.
This marks Céline Dion's second participation in an opening ceremony, the first being the Atlanta Games in 1996. Diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), she had not performed in public since 2020. A proud Québécoise from Charlemagne is on stage for the opening ceremony! Céline Dion is an iconic Canadian with remarkable talents, and she has overcome many challenges to be here tonight. Céline, it’s wonderful to see you singing again, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted on the platform X.
She was the highlight of the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held outside of a stadium. Earlier, between the Pont d’Austerlitz and the Trocadéro, over 6,800 athletes aboard their boats greeted the Parisian crowd, estimated at 320,000 people, under occasional heavy rain.
When you love the Games, you don't let a few raindrops get in your way, said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, in his address to the athletes and the public at the Trocadéro. Most spectators had difficulty reaching the venue due to arson and vandalism on the Paris high-speed train network (TGV) on Friday, aimed at disrupting travel, according to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
However, once at the destination, the crowd witnessed a grand spectacle directed by Thomas Jolly, who revisited the culture and history of Paris from the French Revolution to today. Jolly promised scenes depicting a country rich in diversity and inclusion, showing not just one France, but multiple Frances. Dance, pyrotechnics, and musical performances—including Céline Dion, Lady Gaga, metal band Gojira, Aya Nakamura, rapper Rim'K, pianist Sofiane Pamart, and Juliette Armanet—punctuated the event. Three thousand dancers, musicians, and actors were utilized along the banks of the Seine.
Thank you to Thomas Jolly and his creative genius for this grand ceremony, wrote French President Emmanuel Macron on X. Thank you to the artists for this unique and magical moment. Thanks to the law enforcement, emergency services, agents, and volunteers. Thank you to everyone who believed in it. We'll talk about this in 100 years! We did it!
The ceremony, a blend of performances along the river and images on large screens, featured 12 scenes following the journey of a mysterious masked flame-bearer inspired by the video game Assassin's Creed, across the rooftops and bridges of Paris, ziplining through Notre-Dame, and visiting artisan workshops and the Louvre, in front of the most famous paintings.
Lady Gaga performed Mon truc en plumes by Zizi Jeanmaire, a French hit from the early 1960s, with choreography reminiscent of the cabaret era. A song to honor the French, she wrote on social media, thanking the organizing committee for choosing her.
Lady Gaga sang alongside dancers, while Aya Nakamura, accompanied by the Republican Guard, performed her greatest hits as well as songs by Charles Aznavour. The ceremony also highlighted the LGBTQ+ community with scenes including two men sharing a kiss, drag queens recreating the Last Supper, and a
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