Celine Dion made her highly anticipated musical return on Friday with a show-stopping performance that closed out the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony in Paris. Situated on the iconic Eiffel Tower, which was adorned by the Olympic rings, the French Canadian singer serenaded the world with Édith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour” (“Hymn to Love”) after the Olympic cauldron was lit.
Wearing a sparkly floor-length Dior Haute Couture gown by Maria Grazia that was covered in beads and sequins, Dion was accompanied by a pianist as she belted out the song, which was first recorded in 1950. Made from white silk georgette and cascading with glittering sequins and beads, the singer appeared to be covered in crystals as she performed in the gorgeous gown. A press release revealed that the Dior dress that Dion was wearing was adorned with “thousands of pearls and more than 500 meters of fringing.” The floor length gown also featured a long sweeping train. She accessorized the look with dazzling jewels, including dangling drop earrings to add even more sparkle, while she wore her hair in a slick bun and rocked a bold smoky eye look with a nude lip.
The intricacy of the gown took a vast amount of work by Dior’s Haute Couture Atelier, with construction of the dress taking more than 1,000 hours to create, Vogue reported.
Dion’s Olympic performance is part of her comeback following her diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome and it also marked nearly 30 years since the musical legend took to the stage at the 1996 Olympic Games, which took place in Atlanta, with her ballad, “The Power of the Dream.”
Lady Gaga also wore Dior for her performance at the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris. Her dramatic outfit consisted of a custom black bustier, with black satin panties, and accessories such as a headdress and gloves all created by Dior. Before revealing the all-black ensemble, Lady Gaga was surrounded by flamingo pink “naturally molted feathers,” which were also created by Dior, The Hollywood Reporter revealed.
