DStv Channel 403 Saturday, 02 November 2024

Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Aya Nakamura: Set for Olympics opening ceremony?

PARIS - World-famous stars are in line to perform at Friday's opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which will take place along the Seine River.

The exact line-up is a tightly guarded secret, but here are three performers strongly rumoured to be appearing:

One of the world's biggest-selling artists, pop queen Lady Gaga, brings extravagant showmanship and costumes to the stage, along with her infectious electropop beats.

She won an Oscar for "Shallow", a song she co-wrote for the 2018 film remake "A Star is Born".

Lady Gaga was seen arriving at a hotel in the French capital days ahead of the opening bash.

Her anticipated Olympic turn comes during a busy year for the Oscar-winning US songwriter.

Earlier this month she announced she was back in the studio at work on a new album.

This is the second Olympics where Dion has performed, after the 1996 Atlantic games
AFP/File | Alice Chiche

Canadian superstar singer Dion is set to return to the spotlight after her fight against a rare illness was laid bare in a recent documentary.

She has been posing for selfies with fans around Paris since the start of the week.

Sources have indicated she may sing Piaf's stirring love anthem "Hymne A l'Amour" at the ceremony.

If she performs it will be the 56-year-old Dion's second time at the Games, after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Last month she vowed she would fight her way back from the debilitating rare neurological condition that has kept her off stage.

Dion first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder.

Nakamura faced down racially-charged criticism over her Olympics appearance
AFP/File | LOIC VENANCE

Franco-Malian R&B superstar Aya Nakamura is the most listened to French-speaking singer in the world, with seven billion streams online.

She is known for hits such as "Djadja", which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone, and "Pookie".

She faced down a wave of abuse from right-wing activists over her mooted Olympics appearance.

The backlash came after media reports suggested she had discussed performing a song by Piaf at a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.

Neither party confirmed the claim but Macron publicly backed the singer for the Olympics ceremony.

Far-right politicians and conservatives have accused her of "vulgarity" and disrespecting the French language in her lyrics.

Paid Content