Camille Naredo

Canadian singer Celine Dion attends the New York special screening of the documentary film "I Am: Celine Dion" at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 17, 2024. Angela Weiss, AFP

Canadian singer Celine Dion attends the New York special screening of the documentary film "I Am: Celine Dion" at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 17, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Article (news)

Celine Dion

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747486089428AFP__20240618__34X87VT__v2__HighRes__UsCanadaEntertainmentMusicCinemaCelineDion.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Canadian singer Celine Dion attends the New York special screening of the documentary film &quot;I Am: Celine Dion&quot; at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 17, 2024. Angela Weiss, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Canadian singer Celine Dion attends the New York special screening of the documentary film &quot;I Am: Celine Dion&quot; at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 17, 2024. <em>Angela Weiss, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>BASEL, Switzerland -- Just hours before Saturday&#x27;s Eurovision Song Contest grand final, organizers were tight-lipped about whether ailing superstar Celine Dion might make an emotional appearance, 37 years after winning the competition.</p><p>&quot;Father Christmas exists, and you&#x27;ll have to wait and see,&quot; Eurovision director Martin Green told a press conference, when asked directly if Dion might show up.</p><p>At both of Friday&#x27;s dress rehearsals for the final, as at Tuesday&#x27;s semi-final, a video message from Dion was played, with the presenters announcing that she could not be with them in Basel, Switzerland for the world&#x27;s biggest televised live music event.</p><p>But Eurovision 2025 co-executive producer Moritz Stadler said on Saturday that the show was still being adapted.</p><p>&quot;There are constant changes. Our team has been working overnight until very late,&quot; he said. &quot;We continue changing it for the grand final.&quot;</p><p>BBC television reported that Dion&#x27;s private plane was in Basel, but did not know if she was on it.</p><p>And Swiss newspaper Blick said that selected staff with printed schedules for the final &quot;can see that the recorded greeting from the rehearsals and the first Eurovision semi-final is no longer included&quot;.</p><p>&quot;This indicates that the clip played during rehearsals has been replaced,&quot; the tabloid added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/7/27/lady-gaga-celine-dion-add-sparkle-to-star-studded-olympic-show-921">READ: Lady Gaga, Celine Dion add sparkle to star-studded Olympic show</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/1/31/celine-dion-documentary-to-explore-her-rare-illness-1201">READ: Celine Dion documentary to explore her rare illness</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Dion&#x27;s health &#x27;top priority&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7G9l-D825ZU?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Dion, 57, is now a global music icon. But she has never forgotten the role the song contest played in launching her on the international stage.</p><p>Dion was 20 and little-known outside her native French-speaking Quebec province in Canada when she won Eurovision in 1988, representing Switzerland with the song &quot;Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi&quot;.</p><p>Switzerland duly hosted Eurovision 1989, where Dion opened the TV extravaganza with her winning French-language song.</p><p>She then premiered the single &quot;Where Does My Heart Beat Now&quot; -- heralding her career switch into English, which set her on the path to global chart domination.</p><p>With Eurovision 2025 returning to Switzerland, organisers reached out to Dion.</p><p>However, the singer is now battling a debilitating health condition and rarely appears in public.</p><p>&quot;We are still in contact with Celine Dion. As always, her health remains our top priority,&quot; a Eurovision 2025 spokeswoman told AFP on Friday.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/5/12/switzerland-s-nemo-wins-68th-eurovision-song-contest-2028">READ: Switzerland&#x27;s Nemo wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Music unites us&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Dion first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a painful autoimmune disorder which is progressive and for which there is no cure.</p><p>She was forced to cancel a string of shows scheduled for 2023 and 2024, saying she was not strong enough to tour.</p><p>But she gave a surprise, show-stopping performance from the Eiffel Tower at the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;d love nothing more than to be with you in Basel right now,&quot; Dion said in her video clip.</p><p>&quot;Winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988 was a life-changing moment for me.</p><p>&quot;Music unites us -- not only tonight, not only in this wonderful moment. It is our strength, our support, and our accompaniment in times of need.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Just hours before Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest grand final, organisers were tight-lipped about whether ailing superstar Celine Dion might make an emotional appearance, 37 years after winning the competition.</p>

Just hours before Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest grand final, organisers were tight-lipped about whether ailing superstar Celine Dion might make an emotional appearance, 37 years after winning the competition.

Eurovision says 'wait and see' on Celine Dion

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Eurovision says 'wait and see' on Celine Dion

Agence France-Presse,

Robin Millard

Published May 17, 2025 09:22 PM PHT

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