The cancellations will affect her 16-country tour in Europe which was due to start in Amsterdam in August and conclude with two dates at the O2 arena in London in April next year [Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters]
Pop icon Celine Dion has cancelled all her remaining shows scheduled for 2023-24, saying she was not strong enough to tour as she battles a rare neurological disorder.
Last year, the 55-year-old Canadian revealed that her condition – Stiff-Person Syndrome – was affecting her singing.
“I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again… and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything until I’m really ready to be back on stage,” Dion tweeted.
“I’m not giving up… and I can’t wait to see you again!” she added.
A statement released by her tour said, “With a sense of tremendous disappointment, Celine Dion’s Courage World Tour today announced the cancellation of all remaining dates currently on sale for 2023 and 2024.”
Dion, one of the top women singers with an octave-busting voice, is the author of hits like, Because You Loved Me, My Heart Will Go On, and, Think Twice.
In December 2022, she posted a tearful video on Instagram to say she had recently been diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome and would not be ready to start her European tour in February as planned.
She said the disorder was causing muscle spasms and was “not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to”.
Sufferers commonly experience stiff muscles in the torso, arms and legs, with noise or emotional distress known to trigger spasms.
The cancellations will affect her 16-country tour in Europe which was due to start in Amsterdam in August and conclude with two dates at the O2 arena in London in April next year.
Her “Courage World Tour” began in 2019, and Dion completed 52 shows before the coronavirus pandemic put the remainder on hold. She later cancelled the North American section of the tour due to her health problems.
Fans online reacted with disappointment, but wished Dion well.
“Not surprising, but no less sad. Courage to you Celine, we are with you,” wrote one fan information account @LesRedHeads.
“You don’t have to apologize queen! Take care of yourself. Your health should take number one priority,” wrote @notaerz.
The youngest of 14 children, Dion was born in Quebec, Canada and got her start at 12, when her mother sent a recording of her to Angelil, who mortgaged his own home to finance her first album. She began singing in French, but started bellowing out hits in English after taking English lessons in the 1980s.
She gained worldwide fame in 1997 with, My Heart Will Go On, the theme to James Cameron’s extremely popular film, Titanic.
She parlayed that success into a regular gig at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, playing for audiences night after night for 16 years, with only a few breaks.
