Céline Dion Greets Fans in Paris as Rumors of Her Performing at 2024 Summer Olympics Grow Stronger

The Grammy-winning icon, 56, was photographed greeting fans outside the Royal Monceau Hotel in the French capital on July 23 amid rumors she’ll return to the stage for the first time since announcing her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022.

Dion was seen smiling as she waved to fans and signed autographs at the hotel — hours after Variety reported she’ll perform during this year’s Summer Olympics. Around the same time, TMZ reported the “I’m Alive” singer will take the stage during the opening ceremony on Friday and receive a $2 million paycheck for one song.

The Queen of Power Ballads has made several public appearances as of late, most recently during the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28 to announce the Montreal Canadiens’ fifth-round draft pick.

Before that, she appeared at the premiere of her Prime Video documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. The film chronicles her experience with stiff-person syndrome and hopes to get back to performing in the future.

In an April interview with Vogue France, Dion opened up about when she may sing live again. “I can’t answer that… Because for four years I’ve been saying to myself that I’m not going back, that I’m ready, that I’m not ready,” she told the outlet. “As things stand, I can’t stand here and say to you: ‘Yes, in four months.’ I don’t know… My body will tell me. On the other hand, I don’t just want to wait.”

At the time, Dion continued, “It’s morally hard to live from day to day. It’s hard, I’m working very hard and tomorrow will be even harder. Tomorrow is another day. But there’s one thing that will never stop, and that’s the will. It’s the passion. It’s the dream. It’s the determination.”

The “Because You Loved Me” vocalist also expressed hopes to specifically return to Paris, explaining that she’s determined to get herself back into the right physical shape for her profession as a touring musician: “I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be. My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!”

Around the documentary’s release last month, Dion teased her return to the stage in a cover story interview with PEOPLE: “We’re talking about putting a show together, and I have so many ideas. I can’t wait.”

Hoda Kotb — who interviewed Dion last month for Today — recently spoke about the “spectacular” possibility of Dion performing at the Paris Olympics during an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

“Céline Dion at the Paris Olympics? That would be amazing, but I don’t know. I know she’s going to be performing live again, though. I don’t know where,” Kotb, 59, explained. “She’s gonna perform again, and there’s always gonna be a date and time to perform.”