DPA
Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested that singer Celine Dion will appear at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.
The Canadian, one of the most famous French-speaking singers of all time, suffers from a rare autoimmune disease and has not performed for years.
It would be “great news” if she were to perform at the ceremony on the River Seine in the heart of the French capital, Macron told France 2 TV, “because she is a great artist.” The 56-year-old is rumoured to be in the Olympic city.
“Apparently she has arrived in Paris,” Macron teased, without giving further details.
France’s acting sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra gave an even stronger hint.
“You have seen she is in Paris. That is not an accident,” she told TF1.
However, she did not confirm that Dion would sing.
“There are lots of possible roles at an opening ceremony,” the minister added.
The lighting of the Olympic cauldron, and who does it, is a major moment of every Games but the situation in Paris is unclear. This is because organizers have decided to hold the opening ceremony outside of a stadium for the first time.
The extravaganza will take place along the Seine, with athletes due to travel down the river by boat to the Eiffel Tower. Tens of thousands are expected to line the route although security is extremely high and spectators must have tickets.
The centre of Paris around the Seine has been almost entirely cordoned off ahead of the ceremony and there is a plan B should there be credible terrorist threat.
Dion, whose biggest hit was “My Heart Will Go On,” announced in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome.
She recently said in a TV interview that the condition can cause muscle cramps anywhere in the body, causing her hands or feet to freeze, for example. She has problems walking and singing.
