“Well yeah, here we go again. Celine Dion announced on Friday that she had to postpone her European tour due to the same health problems that forced her to move her residency concerts to Las Vegas last fall.
Posted at 7:39
Updated at 2:36 p.m.
In a three-minute video posted on the internet in which she appears sad and resigned, the singer revealed that she was still suffering from muscle spasms and that she was unable to offer her series of concerts across the Atlantic. , scheduled from May 25 to September 24. These performances will now be held from February 24 (Prague, Czech Republic) to October 4, 2023 (Helsinki, Finland).
Remember that initially, the European portion of the Courage World Tour was to open in the spring of 2020. Pandemic obliges, it had been moved for the first time.
Multiple postponements have forced the cancellation of some performances.
In identical messages delivered in French as in English, Celine Dion indicates that she feels “still a little better”.
“But it sure isn’t going fast enough, and it’s super frustrating for me,” she says between two sighs. My doctors follow me, I receive treatments, but I still have muscle spasms. »
The diva of Charlemagne indicates that she is doing the best she can to get back in shape “as soon as possible”. She is waiting to be “in good shape, in good health” to go back on stage and be able to “give 100%” of herself.
“Because that’s what you deserve,” she adds.
Celine Dion’s record company, Sony Music, declined to comment on the news. The promoter of the artist’s new show at the Resorts World hotel-casino complex in Las Vegas did not respond. It is unclear how this announcement will affect his residency contract. No later than Thursday, Entertainment Weekly published an article about the most anticipated concerts of 2022 in the city of vice. And those of Celine Dion were part of the lot. But no date has yet been confirmed.
Reached by phone, Celine Dion’s musical director since 2015, Scott Price, said he was happy that, in the end, the majority of concerts were postponed and not canceled.
“I think especially of Céline, that she takes all the time she needs to recover. I will be there for her when the time is right,” added the pianist.
Mixed fan reaction
This announcement has caused mixed reactions among Celine Dion fans, various fan groups around the world tell us, including The Dion Family, Celine Dion Italia and Celine Dion Holland. Although they are saddened and frustrated, most continue to support the interpreter of my heart Will Go On. They hope that she will find the shape to give her shows.
However, they severely criticize its management team, which has been rather discreet in this period of turbulence. In other words, they did not appreciate the radio silence of the last six months regarding the professional activities and the state of mind of the Quebec icon.
Faithful Dutch admirer of Celine Dion, Mathias de Groot had kept his tickets to go see his concert at the Ziggo Dome, in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, but this time, he will ask for a refund.
“Because of all these postponements, I am less confident and less excited about the show, explains the 35-year-old man. But of course, Celine’s health takes precedence over everything. »
Mathilde Prunier, from Limoges, France, will also demand reimbursement. She was to attend two concerts in Paris in the summer. She deplores the lack of transparency of the artist’s entourage, whom she did not find “comfortable” in her video message.
We used to have an open-hearted Céline, and that’s not what we have anymore. It’s a little destabilizing. […] I remain convinced that something is being hidden from us.
Mathilde Prunier
For Renato, a 39-year-old Italian fan who booked his tickets to cheer on his idol on July 15, 2023 at the Lucca Summer Festival, his state of health is “worrying”.
Same story with Dhruv Kachari, a 32-year-old German living in Darmstadt, who was ready to sing Because You Loved Me loudly from the floor of the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. “I hope Céline will recover and get all the help she needs to heal, but her team needs to learn to communicate better. They need to be more open with his fans who have been supporting him since the 1990s. We’re not a bunch of wayward teenagers. »
In recent years, various health problems have forced Celine Dion to postpone engagements. In the fall of 2019, as she began her tour Courage, a virus in the throat had forced her to complete rest. In 2018, due to a middle ear disorder, she canceled dozens of performances at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. In November 2017, a few concerts had been torpedoed because she suffered from back spasms.