You’d think a gig like opening the Olympic Games would earn you millions, wouldn’t you? Well, Canadian singer Celine Dion didn’t earn a cent, in dollars or euros, for her stunning performance in the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony. So technically, those kids manning a lemonade stand in your neighborhood on Friday (July 26) earned more money than one of the biggest names in the music industry.
Yes, the Olympics opened with a bang over the weekend, and we saw USA’s flag bearers, basketball icon Lebron James and tennis legend Coco Gauff, cruise down the River Seine alongside the nation’s other 590 Olympians. The ceremony ended with Dion’s sparkling rendition of Edith Piaf’s ‘L’Hymne A L’Amour’ from the Eiffel Tower, marking her first performance since revealing to the world her battle with ‘stiff person’ syndrome – which resulted in her cancelling her world tour.
Initially, a report from a well-known US publication falsely claimed that the 56-year-old would receive a whopping $2 million for performing just one song as she opened up this summer’s games.
It’s a huge sum of money that we probably all would have believed if it wasn’t for the organizers of the Olympics rubbishing those claims.
A statement issued by the Olympics read: “Contrary to information relayed in the media, the performers who will perform during the Paris 2024 Games ceremonies will not receive a fee for their performance. This commitment on their part – under these conditions – reflects their desire to participate in a historic event for France and for the world of sport. Furthermore, Paris 2024 will cover all technical production and performance organization costs, as is customary.”
It continued: “Paris 2024 reminds that the budget of the organizing committee is 96 percent financed by private funding and that at no time do public contributions pay the artistic teams.”
So there you have it, Dion did it for free, and who would blame her? What an incredible privilege it would be to sing at the most historic competition on Earth. This comes after the five-time Grammy winner opened up about her ongoing health battle in her recent documentary *I Am: *Distressing footage of her having a seizure – which lasted for minutes – features in the documentary, something that shocked and devastated viewers.
Dion was told by a therapist that it occurred due to her brain being ‘overstimulated’ in the recording studio. So perhaps Dion thought taking the Olympic gig would be a good way to make a bit of history by doing what she loved, despite fears about her health. Viewers of the Opening Ceremony would have also noted Lady Gaga also performed, and she too did not receive a cheque for the gig.
