Eurovision Song Contest organisers are reportedly still keeping their fingers crossed that Celine Dion could perform.
The Canadian singer, 56, was catapulted to fame after winning the annual singing competition for the Swiss back in 1988 with French-language song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Don’t Leave Without Me).
What better person therefore to grace the stage at the Grand Final this year in Switzerland.
It was reported last month that the My Heart Will Go On hit-maker was in talks to perform at Eurovision, dependent on her health.
In December 2022, Dion revealed that she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome (SPS) which led to her cancelling her Courage World Tour.
Since then, she has largely stayed out of the spotlight, returning for the first time since publicly announcing her diagnosis at the Olympics in Paris last year.
Giving an update on where they are at with Eurovision, the competition’s head of show Yves Schifferle confirmed that talks are ongoing for Celine to appear on May 17 in in St Jakobshalle in Basel.
He told The Euro Trip Podcast: “We all know Celine’s situation… we are in contact, we leave this open to the very last day.”
The main symptoms of SPS are muscle stiffening and spasming, and there is currently no cure for the disease, but there are ways for it to be treated, including through the use of muscle sedatives and relaxants.
Dion opened up about her health battle in her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
In one scene, she spoke about candidly about the musle spasms she experiences, which were once so strong they broke her ribs.
Describing living with the condition as “like somebody’s strangling you”, she added: “It feels like if I point my feet, it will stay in (that position), or if I cook—because I love to cook—my fingers, my hands will get in position.
“It’s cramping, but it’s like in a position [where] you cannot unlock them.”
The All By Myself warbler continued: “Sometimes when it’s very severe, it can break some ribs.”
The UK will be represented at this year’s Eurovision by all-female trio Remember Monday and their entry What The Hell Just Happened.
