Canadian singer Celine Dion has given her first full solo concert in six years, performing in Paris in her first return to the stage since announcing she has an incurable illness, infohub.kz reports.
Dion revealed her diagnosis of stiff-person syndrome in December 2022. It is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that, she said, affects roughly one person in a million. The singer has said she experiences daily spasms that make it difficult for her to walk and to use her vocal cords to their full extent when singing.
During the Paris performance, Celine Dion was overcome with emotion and burst into tears on stage. "It's amazing that we're all together. I made a promise. I promised to come back and to step on stage again. Here I am, singing for you and singing for myself. Thank you so much for your support, for your patience. I am who I am because you love me," the artist said.
Dion last performed a full concert in 2020 as part of her Courage Tour. She was forced to cancel the North American leg of the tour, scheduled for 2022, due to health problems.
A year after announcing her illness, in November 2023, the singer made her first public appearance, spotted at a Montreal Canadiens hockey game with her children. And in February 2024, Dion announced the release of a documentary about her career and life with the incurable condition.