The image of Celine Dion on the Eiffel Tower will remain one of the highlights of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the opening ceremony, spoke about the behind-the-scenes story on Monday evening on the set of C à Vous.
According to him, the rehearsals with Celine Dion, who was to sing The Hymn to Love Edith Piaf’s concert on the first floor of the Parisian monument took place the day before the opening ceremony at 3 a.m.
“She arrived. We offered her two staging options. A first on the Trocadéro stage,” recalled Thomas Jolly before revealing the conditions of the Quebec singer.
“She said: ‘I’ll try, but I’ll sing up there, come wind, snow or rain, I’ll sing on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. That was your initial idea and it’s been my dream, in fact, for a very long time,'” says the artistic director.
“She had this dream of singing on the Eiffel Tower, without playback and the voice is there. She is there and she is another iron lady. Two iron ladies intertwined,” concluded Thomas Jolly.
“She really sang”
At the end of July, the event’s musical director, Victor Le Masnehad revealed in the columns of West France that the singer’s performance was not lip-synced. “We had planned it, but she actually sang,” he assured.
“Her desire was immediate. While warning us about her state of health. But we had the possibility, if she was not there, to broadcast the version of Edith Piaf,” Thomas Jolly also indicated in Ouest-France.
This performance by Celine Dion was her first since she announced that she had stiff person syndrome, neurological disease which affects his voice and forced him to put his career on hold and postpone his tour.
- RMC Sport
