Celine Dion Returns to Paris After Two Years: I Am Ready
The singer made her first public appearance in front of fans in Paris in two years, ahead of a concert residency opening September 12. 'I am ready,' she told reporters.
Celine Dion made her first public appearance in two years on Friday, August 28, stopping outside the Le Royal Monceau hotel in Paris, where a crowd of fans had gathered to greet her just days before she returns to the stage.
The 58 year old singer wore a long camel colored coat and heeled boots, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. She waved and blew kisses to the crowd as journalists and fans gathered outside the hotel called out that they were happy to see her.
It was her first public appearance since November 2024, when she turned up at an Elie Saab fashion show in Riyadh. She revealed her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, in December 2022, and has spent most of her time out of the spotlight since. The one major exception was her performance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, when she sang “Hymne à l’amour” from the top of the Eiffel Tower in the rain.
Speaking to reporters outside the hotel, according to French broadcaster BFMTV, she described how she feels ahead of her return:
“I am ready and I’m a bit uptight of course because it’s been a long time”
Asked which song will open her concerts, she kept her answer short:
“I can’t say, it’s a big secret!”
She added that Paris feels like home to her, calling the city her “second home” and part of a story that has followed her since the earliest days of her career.
Dion spoke earlier, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, about what she missed most during her time away:
“It’s been so long. I want to give them something, to show them how much I missed them.”
The residency is called Celine Dion Paris 2026-2027, and features songs in English and French drawn from her full catalog of hits. The first concert is scheduled for September 12, with the fall leg running:
- September 12, 16, 19, 23, 26 and 30
- October 3, 7, 10 and 14
Sources differ on the scope of the residency. ABC News reports 16 shows across September and October, plus another 10 in May 2027. Serbian outlets covering the story cite ten concerts currently scheduled for September and October. Wikipedia lists 26 shows in total, running through May 29, 2027. Accounts also differ on the venue’s name: ABC calls it the Plenitude Arena, with a capacity of 40,000, while Serbian media and Billboard refer to it as the Paris La Défense Arena, which, according to those reports, is the same building under its earlier, unsponsored name.
Tickets sold out almost as soon as they went on sale.
Dion is one of the best selling artists in pop history, having sold roughly 260 million albums worldwide, with songs like “My Heart Will Go On” still in regular radio rotation.
Our outlet has previously covered other stars’ returns to the stage: Eros Ramazzotti thanked fans for their messages of support and announced that his concerts would not arrive until 2027, and a similar wait was mentioned around Dolly Parton. Celine Dion, unlike them, is already set to face her audience this fall, in a city she calls her second home.
