According to the newspaper Libération, Céline Dion sang playback on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Fact checking. The performance of the Quebec singer on the Eiffel Tower to close the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games on July 27 moved the whole world. So much so that Céline Dion announced Thursday, October 10, the posting of her version of the “hymn to love” on streaming platforms.
Céline Dion posts her cover of “L’Hymne à l’amour”, sung at the opening of the Olympics and a mysterious message
However, the newspaper Liberation released an investigation in which experts explain that Céline Dion’s performance was recorded. “It was 100% playback, you can hear it from the first notes. You can’t have such a clean vocal sound live,” assures a sound engineer who wished to remain anonymous.
“It’s playback”
“It’s impossible that what we hear is live,” says an expert. “The gestures, the levels, the accuracy, the compression… What I hear and what I see: it’s playback,” declares a sound engineer who has already worked with Celine Dion. A version which clashes with that put forward by Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the ceremony, and Victor Le Masne, musical director. The latter assured that the singer had performed “the hymn to love” live.
Receive our leisure newsletter by email and find ideas for outings and activities in your region.
She would not have been the only one to sing playback, two other stars of this ceremony, Lady Gaga and Aya Nakamura had pre-recorded their show.
Questioned by the daily, the production team mentioned confidentiality clauses in order not to respond. And Celine Dion’s team did not respond to interview requests.
J.D.
