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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Vanessa Thorpe

Why Édith Piaf’s plaintive song was the perfect fit for Céline Dion at Paris Games

Céline Dion performs on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. on Frida
Céline Dion performs on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. on Friday. Photograph: Screengrab by IOC/Getty Images

It was a very public triumph, both for Paris and for Céline Dion. It received plaudits around the world as one of the highlights of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Yet the soundtrack was a tragic one.

The Canadian diva had chosen to celebrate the great French chansonnier Édith Piaf in a live, high-stakes comeback performance delivered from the iron shoulders of the Eiffel Tower amid showers of rain and fireworks.

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