Celine Dion was never due to ‘attend, perform, or present’ at Eurovision
Celine Dion was never due to “attend, perform, or present” at this year’s Eurovision Song Content, a representative for the singer has said.
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The 57-year-old Canadian won Eurovision for Switzerland in 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, and reports speculated she was due to perform at this year’s song contest.
A statement by a representative has now addressed the speculation, and revealed the rumours were "false reporting".
They said: “Celine was not in Basel, nor did she ever plan to attend, perform, or present at the event. Furthermore, contrary to certain claims, she does not own a private plane.
“Recent published stories are entirely false and potentially damaging since they suggest that she accepted the organisers’ invitation to attend in person and that her subsequent nonattendance resulted from ill health.
“This is completely untrue."
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They continued: “What is accurate is that Celine was invited to record a brief video greeting for the occasion, which she was happy to provide.
“In an era where sensational headlines often take precedence, we urge media outlets to uphold journalistic integrity and even minimal fact-check before publishing such inaccuracies.”
Dion appeared during the first semi-final of the song contest in a prerecorded video message.
Last year she gave her first live public performance since revealing she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome (SPS) when she sang from the Eiffel Tower at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The five-time Grammy-winner revealed her SPS diagnosis in December 2022 before cancelling her Courage World Tour.
The condition, which causes progressive muscular inflexibility, is documented in her 2024 documentary I Am: Celine Dion, in which she spoke about her desire to return to performing.
The singer’s hits include It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, Think Twice, A New Day Has Come, and My Heart Will Go On, which featured in the 1997 film Titanic and topped the UK singles chart.
