Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, two of the music industry’s most iconic voices, are confirmed to perform together at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday.
The duo will reportedly perform the classic Édith Piaf song “La Vie en Rose.” The choice of song, a beloved French anthem, underscores the cultural and emotional weight of the occasion.
Dion posted photos of herself at the Louvre, gushing: “Every time I return to Paris, I remember there’s so much beauty and joy still to experience in the world”.
Dion’s rumored appearance would mark her first performance since she was forced to halt her touring schedule and step away from the spotlight after being diagnosed in December 2022 with Stiff Person Syndrome, a a rare, chronic neurological disorder that causes muscle stiffness and sometimes intense spasms. She last performed live in New York in the spring of 2020.
According to RTL, every effort has been made to keep the French-Canadian singer relaxed ahead of her comeback.
Lady Gaga and Celine Dion stay low ahead of the Paris Olympics
The Guardian reports that she arrived in Paris on a private jet trip from her home in Vegas and is staying in a sumptuous suite at the Royal Monceau on the Champs Elysee, from which Gaga, the American singer-songwriter who was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, was coincidentally also seen emerging this week, blowing kisses to her fans.
According to some media reports, Dion is being paid a €2m fee and will be dressed in a pink and black feather cape from Dior.
As for Gaga, the tight security around the Seine did not stop one intrepid fan posting a photograph of someone who looked very much like her by a white piano on a floating island on the river on Monday.
Neither woman will find it difficult linguistically to perform “La Vie en Rose”. Dion was born in French-speaking Charlemagne, Quebec, a small town from Montreal.
Lady Gaga, whose mother is half Italian and half French, has described her mastery of the language as “merdique” but she has talked in the past of how her confidence in the language grows when she gets to practice.
Dion performed “The Power of the Dream” at the opening ceremony at the Atlanta games in 1996, a song written and produced specially for the occasion, and rumors that the 56-year-old was aiming for an Olympics comeback had swirled since she appeared on the cover of French Vogue in April.
Dion had spoken of a gruelling physical fitness program to regain her strength and health from a condition that she once likened to strangulation.
“I want to be my best self. I want to see the Eiffel Tower again,” she told Vogue.
Related: The Colorful History of the Olympic Opening Ceremony