Céline Dion returned to the stage after her 2024 Paris Olympics performance to support an important organization.
Dion, 56, stepped out at the City of Hope’s 2024 Spirit of Life Gala in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 22. The event supports the cancer research and treatment organization’s philanthropic efforts to raise funds for childhood and young adult cancer survivorship programs.
Dion — who rocked a black midi dress with a bow back and sheer long-sleeved top — reportedly received a standing ovation upon taking the stage to present this year’s Spirit of Life Award to AEG Presents Chairman and CEO Jay Marciano.
“This is the first time I’ve been on a stage since I was up on that tower. And I kind of miss it,” she told attendees, referring to her Olympics opening ceremony performance on the Eiffel Tower, per People. “This City of Hope is so well-named. It does so much more than the important research leading to new treatments. It provides care to people in their greatest time of need at the most difficult and challenging moment of their lives. That is so important.”
She continued: “It provides the most precious ingredient, it provides hope. And I know how important that is. I know that in our wonderful lives, filled with family and joy and love, we can also be presented with tremendous challenges, with great tests about faith and strength. To many of us who experience this at some point, what a joy it is to come together with everyone in this room tonight to do everything in our power to help spread this great gift of hope.”
Dion later wrote that it was an “honor” to present the award to Marciano, 70, while sharing Instagram pics from the event on Wednesday, October 23. “City of Hope is a phenomenal cancer research organization and to be a part of such an inspiring night touched my heart deeply. I’m so grateful to have been invited. Together, we can make a difference,” she stated.
Dion’s public appearance comes nearly three months after Dion made her musical comeback at the Olympics opening ceremony. Her powerful rendition of “L’Hymne à l’amour” marked the first time she performed since announcing her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022.
According to Mayo Clinic, stiff-person syndrome is “a rare disorder of motor function characterized by involuntary stiffness of axial muscles and superimposed painful muscle spasms, which are often induced by startle or emotional stimuli.”
The Grammy winner opened up about her health battle in the Prime Video documentary I Am: Celine Dion, which was released in June. Dion shared details of her condition in an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb ahead of the film’s premiere, revealing that it felt like “somebody strangling you” when she tried to sing. She also revealed that spasms caused by her stiff-person syndrome caused her to break several ribs and that she took 90mg of Valium per day at one point to ease her symptoms.
Dion further told Kotb, 60, that keeping her health battle hidden became too much of a “burden,” explaining, “Lying to the people who got me where I am today. I could not do it anymore.” She declared her plans to return to performing, stating, “I’m going to go back on stage, even if I have to crawl. Even if I have to talk with my hands, I will. I will.”
