Celine Dion looks in high spirits as she plays air guitar and fist bumps out of her car roof in Paris ahead of making her grand return to the stage at the Olympics Opening Ceremony amid battle with Stiff Person Syndrome

PUBLISHEDFri Jul 26 2024 07:31 GMT

UPDATEDFri Jul 26 2024 15:33 GMT

She's gearing up to perform her first show since being diagnosed with incurable stiff-person syndrome over two years ago.

And Celine Dion looked in great spirits as she larked around with fans in Paris on Thursday ahead of performing at the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday night.

The French singer, 56, appeared full of energy as she played air guitar and waved at the crowds while leaving her hotel in the City of Lights.

She blew kisses at fans before ducking into her car and heading off to an event.

Celine wowed in a navy Dior jumper and trousers that she paired with white trainers and sunglasses.

Celine Dion looked in high spirits as she played air guitar and larked around with fans in Paris on Thursday night ahead of performing at the Olympics

The French singer, 56, appeared full of energy as she played air guitar and waved at the crowds while leaving her hotel in the City of Lights

The Canadian icon's performance at the Olympics will be her first since she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) in 2022, seen during an episode that was filmed for an upcoming Amazon show about her diagnosis

Spotted heading out for dinner across town was Lady Gaga, who is reported to be duetting with Celine with a performance of La Vie En Rose at the Olympics opening ceremony.

The singer was greeted by a rapturous welcome in Paris when she arrived earlier this week, beaming as she posed for selfies with fans outside her hotel.

A source told DailyMail.com that not only will the icon return to the stage at the Olympics, but she will also perform in French to honor the Olympic hosts and her own French-Canadian roots.

In 2022, Celine disclosed that she had been diagnosed with the neurological disorder stiff-person syndrome which causes muscles to stiffen and spasm.

According to reports on her Olympics performance deal, Celine will bring a team of healthcare professionals with her to help handle her comeback.

After her recent promise to return to performing, there has been rumours circulating online that she could sing at the opening ceremony. Céline has not commented.

Céline's heartbreaking documentary, I Am: Céline Dion has been lauded by critics after it was released last month.

The harrowing film - captured over more than a year of filming - follows the star as she battles to continue her normal life and career amid her diagnosis - and has landed a perfect 100 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Céline announced in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with the syndrome - an extremely rare disorder that makes the muscles in the torso and limbs alternate between spasming and being rigid.

Celine looked in great spirits as she larked around with fans in Paris on Thursday ahead of performing at the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday night

Celine wowed in a navy Dior jumper and trousers that she paired with white trainers and sunglasses

Time critic Rich Juzwiak said the film is the 'opposite of a vanity project' and praised Celine for her openness - including recording a difficult moment where she struggles to sing Foreigner's I Want To Know What Love Is due to the condition causing rigidness in the chest.

The review reads: 'In a way, I Am: Celine Dion is a meditation on aging and what happens to stars whose abilities diminish with time, rare diagnosis or not. As tragic and debilitating as it is, Celine's condition gives her a reason to externalize a lot of feelings that many stars never want to acknowledge.

'Nobody wants to talk about what it means to be past their prime, but SPS has forced Dion to contemplate just that.'

Celine Dion is in great spirits as she arrives in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games

New York Times' Chris Azzopardi praised Celine for allowing 'raw footage' to make it into the film, as well as handling her condition with humor.

One such scene sees Celine suffering a 10-minute spasm as she wails in distress and is administered pain medication.

'Dion’s spontaneously expressive personality already shines through her pain in raw footage that feels more connected to her healing journey, like when her physical therapist nags her about a cream she hasn’t been applying to her feet. “Give me a break,” she says with playful exasperation.

'These awkward segments weaken the powerful emotional atmosphere of witnessing Dion transcend her circumstances. Especially when she lets the cameras stick around, showing some of the most grim health-related scenes I have ever seen of a superstar onscreen.'

A synopsis for the film reads: 'From visiting her couture touring wardrobe and personal effects to spending time in the recording studio, the documentary captures a global megastar’s never-before-seen private life.

She blew kisses at fans before ducking into her car and heading off to an event

Fans clamoured to get a picture with the star as she waved for the crowds

All eyes were on Celine as she strutted her stuff outside the hotel

Lady Gaga was also spotted in Paris on Thursday night ahead of performing at the Olympics Opening Ceremony

The singer was spotted exiting Laperouse restaurant in a low-key look

Gaga was mobbed by fans and happily stopped to sign autographs

All the stars you can expect to see at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, President Emmanuel Macron, Pharrell Williams, LeBron James, Kylian Mbappé, Snoop Dogg, Serena Williams, Charlize Theron, Dame Anna Wintour, Dr Jill Biden, Kelly Clarkson, Novak Djokovic, Sha'Carri Richardson, Jin, Rosalia, Omar Sy, Stephen Curry, Simone Biles, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Rory Mollroy, Anna Burnet, Chelsie Giles, Lola Tambling, Chris Grube, Salma Hayek Pinault, Bernard Arnault, Alex Yee, Beth Potter, Eliud Kipchoge, Peyton Manning, Clare Balding, Dwane Wade, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Leslie Jones, Colin Jost, Willie Geist, Sky Brown, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Georgia Bell, Louie Hinchliffe, Gabby Logan, Hazel Irvine, Isa Guha, Jeanette Kwakye, JJ Chalmers, Mark Chapman, Laura Kenny, Fred Sirieix, Jazmin Sawyers, Vicky Holland, Adrian Chiles, Kelly Cates, Naga Munchetty, Eleanor Oldroyd, Tony Livesey, Tom Daley, John Gimson, Jemma Reekie, Scottie Scheffler, Laura Muir, Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Sir Andy Murray. Arsene Wenger, Dina Asher-Smith, Katarina Johnson- Thompson, Revée Walcott-Nolan, Eilish McColgan, Cindy Sember, Jessie Knight, Lina Nielsen, Morgan Lake, Holly Bradshaw, Molly Caudery, Desire Henry, Amy Hunt, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Daryll Neita, Bianca Williams, Laviai Nielsen, Victoria Ohurogu,

Jodie Williams, Nicole Yeargin, Jake Wightman, Josh Kerr, Tade Ojora, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty. Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Philip Sesemann, Charley Davison, Charlotte Purdue, Delicious Orie, Becky Downie, Joe Fraser, Jake Jarman, Charley Hull, Max Whitlock, Freya Anderson, Freya Colbert, Kathleen Dawson, Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Katie Boulter, Joe Salisbury, Neal Skupski, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Heather Watson, Georgia Hall, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Kieran Reilly, Michelle Yeoh, Keely Hodgkinson, Jade Jones, Emile Caress, Matt Richards, Léon Marchand, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Min Woo Lee, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, Kevin Durant, Katie Ledecky, Iga Swiatek, Alex Padilla, Karen Bass, Brigitte Macron, Douglas Emhoff, Patrick Bruel, Steve Toussaint, Presnel Kimpembe, Helen Glover, Julian Alvarez, Julio Enciso, Enso Gonzalez, Caleb Wiley.

Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande are among rumoured performers.

'An emotional, energetic, and poetic love letter to music, I Am: Celine Dion captures more than a year of filming as the legendary singer navigates her journey toward living an open and authentic life amidst illness.'Amazon MGM landed the worldwide rights to the documentary with the film streaming on Prime Video.

FIRST LOOK! Celine Dion shares a raw behind-the-scenes snap from her emotional new documentary - amid battle with incurable stiff-person syndrome

Irene Taylor directed the documentary made by Sony Music Vision, Sony Music Entertainment Canada and Vermilion Films.

'I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,' she said in an emotional video first announcing her condition.

Although she initially postponed her Courage World Tour until the spring of 2024, the Golden Globe winner decided to cancel it in May.

'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,' she told her loyal fans.

The determined artist appears to have kept her promise she made to keep working on her health. 'I want you all to know, I’m not giving up … and I can’t wait to see you again!' she said at the time.

Celine's sister recently revealed the singer had lost control of her muscles due to her condition.

'Celine is a fighter,' an insider told US Weekly. 'She doesn’t have as much control over her muscles as she did before, but she’s working with doctors and physical therapists to get better.'

She revealed her diagnosis in 2022 and has previously said it that can cause spasms so strong that can break ribs and feel like strangulation of the throat (pictured 2019)

The source claimed, 'Celine has been taking time to focus on her health but plans to take the stage again once she is given the go-ahead by her medical team.'

A second person in the know backed up the comments.

'She’s staying positive and upbeat and doing her physical therapy every day,' the insider said.

'Getting back on stage in some form is her constant dream, even if she can no longer sing; she just wants to see those shining faces.'

Stiff-person syndrome is a 'rare autoimmune neurological disorder that most commonly causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms that come and go and can worsen over time,' according to John Hopkins Medicine.

WHAT IS STIFF-PERSON SYNDROME? INCURABLE NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION THAT LOCKS THE BODY

Stiff person syndrome is an extremely rare disorder that makes the muscles in the torso and limbs alternate between spasming and being rigid.

Estimates suggest it affects around 70 people in the UK and 330 in the US and remains little understood. Around twice as many women as men are hit with it.

The progressive disease sees patients' stiffness increase over time and can lead to them needing to use a wheelchair.

There tend to be three types of the syndrome:

Classical person man syndrome: When rigidity and spasms are around the back and stomach, and occasionally thighs and neck. It can cause back curvature over time.
Stiff limb syndrome: Spasms especially affect the legs and feet, occasionally causing them to become fixed in place. Hands can also be affected.
Jerking stiff person syndrome: The rarest, most aggressive form, which includes symptoms from both the others, and also affects the head and eyes.

Experts do not know exactly what is behind the disease.

But they believe it may be caused by an autoimmune reaction, when the body attacks its own nerve cells that control muscle movement.

Around 40 per cent of sufferers also have type 1 diabetes, another autoimmune disease. Type 1 diabetes is particularly associated with classical person syndrome.

Other autoimmune conditions like vitiligo, which causes white patches of skin, and pernicious anemia are likewise associated with it.

It is also more common in people with breast, lung, kidney, thyroid or colon cancer, as well as lymphomas, but researchers do not yet know why.

In stiff person syndrome, the immune system attacks a protein that helps make gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which regulate motor neurons — the nerves that control movement.

Low levels of GABA cause the neurons to continuously fire when they are not supposed to, resulting in the spasms and rigidity.

What are its symptoms?

The main symptoms caused by stiff person syndrome are spasms and rigidity of the torso and limbs.

Spasms can be triggered by loud noises, with the condition also causing heightened sensitivity to sound.

Touch and emotional distress can also be felt more intensely as a result of the condition.

The spasms can be so severe they cause people to fall over or lead to difficulty walking and other disability.

Stress and anxiety are also usually higher in those with the condition, particularly because of the unpredictability of spasms.

The lack of GABA — which regulates anxiety — in their system also affects mental health.