I'm a Celine Dion fan - this is why her emotional Olympics performance can't be topped

Celine Dion sent shockwaves around through the showbiz world when she announced she was suffering from Stiff Person Syndrome in December 2022. To the disappointment of fans, she was forced to cancel her Las Vegas residency and 42 dates of her Courage tour due to the condition.

I was one such fan who had been eagerly awaiting seeing her again live having been fortunate enough to take in her spectacular show in the past. Having always loved a diva with a big voice I was always going to be a Celine Dion fan from the moment she broke through and appeared on my radar.

There was always magic to her shows and performances. The words icon and legend are bandied about a lot but Celine has absolutely earned the title.

Her 2008 tour stands out as it came off the back of her first Las Vegas residency. The Celine who took to the stage on that tour was polished and poised and absolutely loving the power she had over the audience.

It was a huge production - visually stunning with glamorous costume changes and slick routines interspersed with witty banter as she introduced hit after hit. But if you stripped away all of that at its heart, it was a vocal masterclass as she confidently hit notes that only a mere few supremely talented mortals ever manage to reach. You could see she was thrilled with the delivery of her huge songs.

However, as marvellous as that tour was and as stunning as her previous live performances have been nothing will top what she achieved at the Olympics opening ceremony.

Her cancelled tour was called Courage and tonight proved she has it in spades. If anyone was in any doubt about the challenges of her illness she laid them bare in her recent Prime Video documentary I Am Celine Dion.

The film showed that despite her recent public appearances her battle is ongoing. Stiff Person Syndrome is a rare and debilitating disorder that affects the nervous system, causing severe pain, mobility issues, and muscle spasms exacerbated by noise, movement, and emotional stress.

She tearfully revealed that the issue, which had prevented her from performing for three years wasn't her voice, but rather that she could no longer breathe enough air to hit the high notes.

She explained that her lungs are fine but that the muscles surrounding them are so stiff she can't obtain the breath necessary to sing her soaring ballads such as My Heart Will Go On and Think Twice.

Agreeing to perform at the Olympics' opening ceremony must surely have put the superstar under tremendous stress and meant she could be at risk of debilitating spasms such as the one she allowed to be filmed for her documentary. She had previously performed at the 1996 opening ceremony for the Atlanta Olympics so she understood the magnitude of the occassion.

Her performance was also going to be under a microscope as people dissected everything from what she wore to her phrasing to what notes she hit. However, she displayed no nerves although she was clearly emotional as she began to sing.

Performing in her native French she showed no hint of the struggles of the past few years and managed to hit some soaring notes despite her ongoing health issues.

Everything about her performance was perfect from her stunning white sequinned dress which gave her an ethereal aura to her confident delivery to the Eiffel Tower setting. It was the comeback to end all comebacks and knowing what it took for her to get out there made it even more special.

While she may have done more dramatic performances in her decades-long career that will stand out as her best and most moving performance ever and if you weren't moved by it you have a heart of stone.