Celine Dion accused of faking Olympics performance as fans hit out

Canadian superstar Celine Dion wowed the world when she sang Hymne a L'amour (Hymn to Love) at the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony

Celine Dion has been swept into a miming controversy after her "live" performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics opening was claimed to be pre-recorded.

The 56-year-old singing sensation's rendition of Hymne a L'amour (Hymn to Love) front of the Eiffel Tower reportedly brought tears to many, coming as a climax to the extravagant ceremony on the River Seine which even President Emmanuel Macron called the 'emotional highlight' of the games.

Yet, France's trusted Liberation newspaper sparked rumours on Friday reporting that multiple music industry insiders confirmed that Dion's performance on July 26th was undoubtedly not live.

Paris 2024 officials are keeping mum over the growing lip-sync accusations, despite their earlier assurances of the gig being fully live. Etienne Guereau, a composer and performer, told Liberation, 'What we heard on TV was a corrected playback.'

Echoing this sentiment, a sound engineer wishing to stay unnamed conveyed to French media: "It was 100% playback, you can hear it from the first notes." Moreover, other sources agreed the performance was definitely recorded in advance, pointing out that rehearsals by Dion also involved playback.

Adding fuel to the speculations, a YouTuber musician known as Wings of Pegasus highlighted that the rehearsal and actual performance sounded identical, debunking the possibility of both being live due to natural variations expected in live renditions.

The Olympic performance was intended as a triumphant return for Ms Dion, who has been fighting the incurable stiff-person syndrome. The song Hymne a L'amour was selected as it was originally performed by the late French music legend Edith Piaf.

Thousands of fans flocked to social media to laud Ms Dion, known for her greatest hits like 'My Heart Will Go On', the theme from the Titanic film. One fan exclaimed: "Ok I'm proper emotional at Celine's performance, just wow." While another enthused: "Queen Celine is back and she sounds fantastic'"

In 2022, Ms Dion revealed that she had been diagnosed with the neurological disorder stiff-person syndrome, which causes muscle stiffness and spasms. She then pledged to make a comeback to the stage 'even if I have to crawl', stating: "My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again."

Approximately 104,000 people purchased tickets to witness the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony live, with the best seats priced over £2500. Despite the heavy rain, many endured multiple acts, including a pre-recorded one by Lady Gaga, which was displayed on several screens along the river and globally.

However, Ms Dion's act was supposed to be a live one, and it has now been released as such on various streaming platforms. On Thursday, Ms Dion announced on Instagram that the 'live' recording was available on platforms like YouTube and Spotify.

"God brings together those who love each other," Ms Dion penned, referencing the song's lyrics. These are the heartfelt words of Piaf to her beloved, French-Algerian boxer Marcel Cerdan, who tragically lost his life in a plane crash back in October 1949.

In a recent interview with Variety magazine, French president Emmanuel Macron expressed his feelings about the Dion Olympics performance, describing it as the 'biggest emotion' of all at Paris 2024.

The Mirror has approached Celine's representatives for comment on this story.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.