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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Celine Dion makes rare public appearance at hockey match amid stiff-person syndrome battle

Celine Dion has made a rare appearance in public at a hockey game in Las Vegas amid her battle with stiff-person syndrome.

The iconic French-Canadian singer, 55, attended the Edmonton Oilers game and spent time with the players in the locker room.

In footage recently shared to the team’s Instagram account, the My Heart Will Go On hit-maker sports a cream-colored, cashmere jumper dress and big hoop earrings and seems in good spirits.She says she was excited to meet the athletes before hilariously imitating a hockey player's stance on the ice rink.

“[It's] exciting to me - those big guys, like, just on flat shoes,” she began.

“I cannot imagine on skates with all the equipment going like,” she said as she copied a squatting stance with a hockey stick.

The Oilers' left winger Zach Hyman is seen standing beside Dion and clearly finds her antics amusing, which the accompanying post caption confirms, reading: “Celine had Hyms cracking up.” 

The NHL team also shared a trailer for an upcoming episode of their series The Drop, which previewed footage of Dion filmed in February.

Dion has kept a relatively low profile since revealing in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disorder which causes the body to attack its own nerve cells.

In December 2023, Dion’s sister issued a health update saying that her condition had progressed so that she “no longer has control over muscles”.

Celine Dion made a surprise appearance at this year’s Grammys in February (AFP via Getty Images)

She made a surprise appearance at this year’s Grammys to present Taylor Swift with the coveted Album of the Year gong at the prestigious awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Swift faced a backlash after seemingly failing to acknowledge Dion as she collected her prize, but the two later dispelled talk of any “snub” by posing together backstage.

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