Rumors have hit fever pitch in France that Céline Dion will this evening confirm a series of fall performances in Paris, in her first major concert program since being forced to abandon her Courage World Tour in 2020 due to the pandemic followed by health struggles.
Dion, who has been battling her way back to good health after being diagnosed with the rare neurological condition Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) in 2022, last gave a big solo concert in New York in the spring of 2020.
Dion fans have been abuzz over the possibility of the star’s return to the concert scene ever since mysterious posters bearing titles of her best-known songs appeared on the streets of Paris on March 23. Posts on the star’s social media accounts celebrating her ties with the French capital have added fuel to the rumors.
Several French media outlets reported on Monday that the concerts will be officially confirmed in a spectacular event involving a light show on the Eiffel Tower this evening, with the announcement also timed to coincide with Dion’s 58th birthday.
News channel BFMTV showed footage of a test run at the Eiffel Tower overnight in which the Paris landmark was lit up and a message appeared declaring, “Céline Dion, Paris, Je Suis Prête” (Céline Dion, Paris, I’m Ready).
Additionally, state broadcaster France Télévisions has also teased that it will be making a Dion-related announcement this evening at 9.15pm local time.
According to a report in Canadian newspaper La Presse last week, Dion will perform two concerts a week at the 40,000-capacity Paris La Défense Arena in September and October.
This is a very different format from her Courage World Tour, which originally comprised 52 dates across North America and Europe until it was cut short due hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with attempts to resume the tour in 2023 and 2024 abandoned due to the star’s ill health.
The first sign that Dion was the mend was her powerful, one-off live performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in July 2024, in which she belted out Edith Piaf’s classic song ‘Hymn To Love’ against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. She also then performed at an Elie Saab fashion show in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in November 2024.
Fans have been hoping ever since that Dion will return to the live concert scene.
There was speculation last year that Dion would perform at the 2025 European Song Contest in Switzerland, but it not come to pass, with the star’s reps shutting down the reports, saying Dion had never been due to “attend, perform or present”.
If and when the Paris dates are confirmed, the shows will be among the hottest concerts tickets on the planet. When the 200,000 tickets for four Courage World Tour 2020 Paris dates were released in the fall of 2019, they sold out in 90 minutes.
Deadline has contacted Dion’s reps for comment on the latest rumors that an announcement is imminent.