(Paris) The singer Céline Dion, still suffering, cancels for health reasons about forty concerts planned in Europe until April 2024, announced Friday the organizers of her tour.
The Quebec star has not been on stage since a concert in Newark in March 2020. His Courage World Tour was then interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2021, she has suffered from manifestations of a rare neurological pathology. And she is “continuing her treatment,” those around her said in a statement.
“I’m working hard to regain my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re at 100%,” the 55-year-old singer said in the statement.
“Even if it breaks my heart, it’s better that we cancel everything now, until I’m really ready to go back on stage,” she added.
The next concert scheduled in France was in Paris (La Défense Arena) on September 1, the first of a series of six shows in the French capital.
She was to travel across Europe, starting in Amsterdam at the end of August and ending in London, via Helsinki, Budapest or Dublin.
Celine Dion suffers from stiff person syndrome (SPR), a condition whose exact cause is unknown, but likely of autoimmune origin.
Affecting about one in a million people, this syndrome causes severe pain and difficulty in moving, preventing physically strenuous activities.
The singer felt it was “not fair to keep postponing shows” because she didn’t know when she would be able to reconnect with her huge following.
“The medical team that accompanies Céline follows the evolution of the disease and its treatment,” said those around him.
“Tickets purchased for the 42 canceled dates will be refunded,” added the tour organizers.
The singer is one of the most popular artists in the world, famous among others for My Heart Will Go On, a 1997 song for the soundtrack of the movie Titanic.
Little information has leaked out about his daily life and his exact state of health, leaving room for speculation.
In April, Celine Dion released an album, the Love Again soundtrack, featuring five previously unreleased tracks and older hits.
Treating his disease consists of remedying the symptoms, but the path to recovery is not known.
A rheumatologist from the Montpellier University Hospital Center, Christian Jorgensen, explained it on May 18 in the daily Midi libre.
“Céline Dion develops an antibody that targets an enzyme that completely disrupts her muscles. There is no treatment today for that,” he told the newspaper.
“On a platform like ours, you can try to find one. This requires sequencing the antibody and constructing a specific CAR-T, and testing it,” he added.
CAR-T treatment consists of taking white blood cells specialized in the recognition and destruction of pathogenic cells (T lymphocytes) from a patient, genetically modifying them and reinjecting them.
“Time to send tons of love to @celinedion,” wrote fan group Celine Dion Addicts on Twitter.
