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Thousands gather in Paris for Céline Dion’s return to concert stage
Fans gathered outside Paris’s Plenitude Arena on Saturday for the first of Céline Dion’s 16 sold-out shows in the city this year.
Thousands of Céline Dion fans gathered in the streets of Paris on Saturday ahead of the singer’s comeback concert at the Plenitude Arena. The performance was the first of 16 sold-out shows Dion is scheduled to play in the city this year.
For many fans, getting a ticket required persistence. Elda Vauttier, 57, who is originally from France’s Yvelines region, said she managed to secure only one ticket for Saturday and could not bring her daughter, also a fan. She said she was able to buy more tickets for shows in May.
Vauttier, whose son lives in Montreal, has followed Dion since childhood. She has previously seen the singer twice in Paris and once in Las Vegas, and said Dion has accompanied her through both happy and sad times.
Montreal-based flight attendants Frédérique Lauzon and Alexandrine Derome used a layover in Paris to get last-minute tickets. Derome said she expected a spectacular show. Saturday’s concert will be her 24th time seeing Dion perform, after shows in Las Vegas, Montreal, Quebec City and Paris, as well as tapings of special television programs in Montreal.
Marie-Caroline Honnet travelled from Caen in Normandy with her sister for her first Dion concert at the 33,000-seat indoor venue. She described Dion as a family passion that spans generations, saying her niece is already learning the singer’s songs.
Nicolas Enème travelled from Avignon in southern France. He said attending the performance felt extraordinary because fans had thought they might never see Dion again. He said he had no particular expectations beyond hoping that Dion enjoys herself and makes the audience happy.
Dion’s last tour was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, she disclosed that she had stiff-person syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that prevented her from returning to the stage at the time. She performed “Hymne à l’amour” at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but these shows will be her first full concerts in six years. Another 10 shows are scheduled for next year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2026.