“Paris, je suis prête.” On her 58th birthday, Céline Dion let the Eiffel Tower say what she’d been working toward for four years.

The Canadian singer announced a 10-night residency at Paris La Défense Arena, running from 12 September through 14 October. The dates are spaced several days apart — a careful schedule for a performer managing Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological condition that causes debilitating muscle spasms and affected her ability to walk and sing.

Dion disclosed her diagnosis in December 2022, though she’d been experiencing symptoms for years before that. “It’s like somebody is strangling you,” she told NBC News, describing the effect on her voice. She hasn’t performed a full concert since March 2020, when Covid cut short her Courage world tour.

The comeback has been deliberate. Five days a week of athletic, physical, and vocal therapy, she told French Vogue in 2024. “Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it’s over,” she said.

A trial run came at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, where she sang Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’Amour” — from the Eiffel Tower, fittingly. That same song played as Monday’s announcement lit up the landmark in purple.

Paris has long held special meaning for Dion. “I want to love more when I’m in Paris,” she told Vogue. “It makes me love things more.”

Tickets go on sale 7 April. Fan registration opens 31 March. Expect demand to be considerable.

Sources