Celine Dion left fans in floods of tears as she made a rare appearance at the 2025 Eurovision semi-final via video call on Tuesday.
The singer, 57, famously won the contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the winning number Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.
And making an emotional return to the song contest, Celine shared some advice ahead of the anticipated final.
The singer appeared to dismiss any chances of performing in this year’s final, amid rumors of her participation while she copes with stiff person syndrome.
She said: ‘I’d love nothing more than to be with you. Switzerland will forever hold a special place in my heart.
‘It’s the country that believed in me and gave me the chance to be part of something so extraordinary.
‘Winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988, it was a life-changing moment for me and I’m so thankful for everyone who supported me.
‘Now, 37 years later, I know. It’s so beautiful and emotional to see Switzerland winning and hosting this incredible event once again.
‘To the people of Switzerland, thank you for your love. This night is yours and I hope you feel as proud as I do.’
10 acts qualified for Saturday’s grand finale during Tuesday night’s semi-final, including Swedish entrants KAJ, with song Bara Bada Bastu.
Besides Sweden, the countries that advanced to the final include Norway, Albania, Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland, San Marino, Estonia, Portugal, and Ukraine, eliminating Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, and Slovenia from the competition.
Fans were left devastated as Celine confirmed she would not be performing or attending this year’s final in Switzerland.
‘That was beautiful. Celine Dion’s song is actually one of my favourite Eurovision songs’,
‘This tribute to Celine Dion’s #Eurovision win in 1998 is emotional and beautiful. Well done #ESC2025 Proper respect to a legend’,
‘Little tears in my eyes Celine Dion ily’,
‘What a true legend you are Celine Dion!’,
‘Celine Dion being unable to make it to Switzerland due to her health condition but still giving her love’,
‘The Queen Celine Dion being back I can’t’, ‘It’s so sad Celine Dion couldn’t attend Eurovision’,
The singer was diagnosed with the incurable stiff-person syndrome in December 2022.
She made her comeback at the 2024 Paris Olympics after fearing she would never perform again.
The rare disorder rare has side affects that appear as muscle spasms and can impact her singing ability.
Johns Hopkins Medicine states that this disorder impacts one to three people per million, gradually causing individuals to become ‘human statues’ as it locks their bodies in stiff positions, making it difficult to walk or talk.
The star previously described the condition to NBC News as feeling like ‘someone is strangling you,’ pointing out the severe muscle spasms and rigidity the disorder causes.
Despite the All by Myself singer’s obstacles, she remains committed to finding her way back to preforming — undergoing rigorous physical and vocal therapy five days a week.
At the time, the star took to Instagram to address fans in a tearful Instagram post revealing that the incurable disease would postpone her European tour at the time.
She said in the clip, ‘I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it has been really difficult for me to face my challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.
‘Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff person syndrome, which affects one in a million people.
‘While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all the spasms I’ve been having.’
Detailing the impact, Celine added: ‘Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.’
