She later thanked them for their support, patience and love.
“If it’s your first time in Paris, I hope you fall in love with it just like I did,” Dion said at one point in the night.
Celine Dion was visibly emotional as she began her five-week residency in front of 30,000 fans. Photo / Getty Images
“Finally, it’s amazing we are all together.
“I made a promise to come back, to be back on stage. So here I am, singing for you and singing for me, singing live.”
Dion’s last headline concert took place on March 8, 2020, before her Courage World Tour was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In December 2022, the My Heart Will Go On singer publicly revealed her SPS diagnosis after symptoms began worsening and cancelled the remainder of her rescheduled shows.
“Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to,” she said at the time.
Months later, Dion told fans she would not be ready to restart the European leg of the tour in August 2023 as planned and moved to cancel all tour dates worldwide.
“I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%,” she said in a statement.
“It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again.
“I want you all to know, I’m not giving up … and I can’t wait to see you again.”
Dion’s health battle has been partially chronicled in the 2024 documentary I Am: Celine Dion.
The film offers a glimpse into Dion’s way of life as she learned to live with and manage the debilitating condition.
It includes raw footage of Dion experiencing a 10-minute seizure during a physical therapy session, with the singer wincing, crying in pain and spasming uncontrollably as medics frantically administer an anti-seizure nasal spray.
Director Irene Taylor told the Herald’s Karl Puschmann that Dion had lived with symptoms for years and only went public after her condition worsened, leading to the sudden tour and show cancellations.
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