While Aya Nakamura’s name had been announced for a long time, those of Céline Dion and Lady Gaga have generated incredible enthusiasm just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
Will or won’t she be in the show? That is the question. With just a few hours to go until the grand opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, excitement is starting to build in the capital. While the best-kept secret of the Paris Olympics, namely the identity of the last torchbearer, has still not been revealed, the organizers of the opening ceremony are also being put to the test and are trying, as best they can, to limit the disclosure of information, while piquing the curiosity of spectators. Long announced, French singer and international star Aya Nakamura should be part of the grand show that will take place on the Seine, in the heart of Paris. But contrary to what was once suggested, it is not Edith Piaf that she should sing in addition to a few of her iconic songs, but Charles Aznavour. While the location of her performance is still a secret, The Parisian suggests that she should be accompanied by the Republican Guard.
But the two names that have been generating the most buzz in recent days are those of two other international stars who seem to have crossed the Atlantic for the occasion. Both spotted this week in the City of Lights, the Canadian Celine Dion and American Lady Gaga could well use their vocal cords this Friday evening on the banks of the Seine in Paris! Rumors have it that Celine Dion could perform theOde to love by Edith Piaf, while Lady Gaga could be entrusted La vie en roseincluding his performance in the film A Star is Born had been particularly praised a few years ago.
In addition to these three headliners, the French Juliette Armanet is also mentioned. In an article published 48 hours before the event, the Parisian daily newspaper indicates that the director Thomas Jolly has managed to bring together the four singers for the big show planned along the Seine and then around the Champ de Mars. Juliette Armanet, for her part, should be accompanied by the pianist Sofiane Pamart, as revealed The Teambefore The Parisian confirms the information on Wednesday evening. The French-Swiss opera singer Marina Viotti could for her part deliver an original performance with the rock metal group Gojira. Announced “in the simplest device under an enormous bell”, Philippe Katerine should however not sing. Finally, the name of Cerrone has also been mentioned. Only one certainty at this stage, the show, which should last 3h45, promises to be full of surprises.
Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, the masterstroke of the Olympic ceremony
Two celebrities arriving in Paris just a few days before one of the biggest shows on the planet, it didn’t take much for everyone to imagine that they could be at the heart of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Add in nearly a billion viewers expected around the world, a huge show bringing together 10,500 athletes present for the Games, and a first along the Seine, and you won’t really have any doubts. Lady Gaga and Céline Dion barely hid when leaving the Royal Monceau, the 5-star palace where they stayed and near which they were abundantly greeted by fans and photographed, the first on July 22 and the second this Wednesday, July 24.
While nothing official has yet confirmed the participation of Céline Dion and Lady Gaga in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, the presence of Céline Dion on stage “would be fantastic news, because she is an immense artist”, Emmanuel Macron even declared, during his interview on France 2 on July 23, while the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, conceded, Wednesday July 24, that the singer was not there “by chance”. Suffering for several years from stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disease that keeps her away from the stage, Céline Dion could therefore perform on Friday evening, a first since March 8, 2020 and her last concert in Newark. But the performance of the singer of I’m alive should be subject to the absence of last-minute contraindications. The singer would in any case be preparing to go on stage and had even planned fittings at Dior in view of the opening ceremony according to RTL.
Lady Gaga’s performance is also uncertain. Her participation in the Olympics had not been mentioned or brought forward by the many rumors about the artists present at the opening ceremony. But a recent enigmatic video published by Paris 2024 has fans of the Manhattan native wondering. It shows a person in armor, a disguise that would not scare Lady Gaga, a big fan of disguises and daring choreographies on stage. Finally, a video of the rehearsals, of too poor quality to make out the slightest detail of the performer, has circulated in recent days, showing a piano performance. Enough to arouse the excitement of Lady Gaga’s French fans a little more, who have not seen the singer on a French stage since a notable show at the Stade de France in 2022… The return would only be more grandiose.