CELINE Dion’s showstopping performance at the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics was a fake, new claims allege.
Millions were moved to tears when the 56-year-old Canadian superstar sang Hymne à L’amour (Hymn to Love) in front of the Eiffel Tower.
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Dion’s rare performance was a highlight of the Opening Ceremony after the Queen of Power Ballads was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome.
But multiple music industry experts today have said the July 26th performance was pre-recorded, Liberation newspaper claims.
Paris 2024 organisers refused to answer questions on the scandal, despite previously insisting that the performance was indeed a live one.
Composer and performer Etienne Guéreau said: “What we heard on TV was a corrected playback.”
A sound engineer who asked to remain anonymous also said: “It was 100% playback, you can hear it from the first notes.”
Others said it was ‘”without a shadow of a doubt” pre-recorded, as was a performance by Dion in rehearsals.
The Olympics performance was a triumphant comeback for Dion, who has been battling the incurable stiff-person syndrome.
Hymne à L’amour was chosen because it was originally sung by the late French music icon Edith Piaf.
Thousands of fans took to social media to praise Dion, whose greatest hits include My Heart Will Go On, the theme from the Titanic movie.
One fan said: “Ok I’m proper emotional at Celine’s performance, just wow!”
Another gushed: “Queen Celine is back and she sounds fantastic”.
It was in 2022 that Dion disclosed that she was diagnosed with the neurological disorder which causes muscles to stiffen and spasm.
She then made a vow to return to the stage “even if I have to crawl”, adding: “My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!”
Around 104,000 people paid for tickets to watch the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony live, with the best seats costing more than £2500.
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Despite heavy rain, many sat through multiple acts, including a pre-recorded number by Lady Gaga, which was shown on multiple screens along the river, as well as around the world.
But Dion’s performance was meant to be a live one, and it has just been released as such on various streaming platforms.
Dion announced on Instagram on Thursday that the ‘live’ recording was available on sites such as YouTube and Spotify.
She announced: “God brings together those who love each other.”
These are Piaf’s words to the love of her life, French-Algerian boxer Marcel Cerdan, who died in a plane crash in October 1949.
French president Emmanuel Macron spoke about the Dion Olympics performance in an interview with Variety magazine this week, saying it caused the “biggest emotion” of all at Paris 2024.
The Opening Ceremony mainly held along the banks of the River Seine – one that President Emmanuel Macron said was the “emotional highlight” of the sporting extravaganza.
‘BACK ON THE HORSE’
Aside from the Olympic Games, Celine is also planning a comeback in Las Vegas.
Sources exclusively told The U.S. Sun she is planning a limited run of shows this fall.
Celine is rumoured to be performing her greatest hits for a 70-minute show.
The shows will most likely take place at the Resorts World Theatre at around the time of the Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix, a source said.
An insider revealed if Celine’s health gets worse the plan is to push the residency back.
Concert promoter AEG would host the shows, with a “short run at first” to see if Celine can handle performing live.
Celine, who lives in Sin City, has been rehearsing musicians and voice therapists for the last eight months, a source told The U.S. Sun.
“Her desire to return and entertain has been a huge driving force in her health battles,” the source said.
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