Celine Dion hugs emotional son Rene Charles before Olympic performance

Celine Dion has thanked her son Rene Charles for his support of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 56-year-old Canadian singer took to Instagram on Friday, August 16, to share an Instagram post about her July 26 performance on stage of French singer Édith Piaf’s “ Behind the scenes preparations for “Hymne A L’Amour”.

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The performance marked her unexpected return and her first performance since announcing her diagnosis of zombie syndrome in December 2022.

In the clip, the “Power of Love” singer includes footage of herself being greeted in front of a hotel by adoring fans, some of whom brought balloons for the global superstar.

Next, in the film, she puts on a dazzling Olympic opening ceremony dress, which Dior spent more than 1,000 hours making. The silver design features approximately 1,640 feet of beaded tassels.

Dion also showed off a shot of herself in the hair and makeup chair, where she sat in front of a bright vanity and sported a smoky eye.

The “I’m Still Alive” singer showed off her flexibility during a pre-show stretch.

After adding the accessories, it’s time for her to take the stage.

As Dion left the dressing room, she greeted her team with fist pumps along the way and then walked over to 23-year-old Rene Charles, who was waiting for her at the base of the stage riser.

Her eldest son, whom she shared with her late husband René Angélil, was visibly shaken in the video as he watched his mother’s epic return to the stage.

After a sweet hug, Dion began her performance.

The “My Heart Will Go On” singer told People magazine ahead of the 2024 Olympics that her sons – Rene Charles and 13-year-old twins Nelson and Eddie – are helping her fight the ice. Human Syndrome provides the impetus.

“I could barely walk at one point and I missed life so much. My kids started to notice. I was like, ‘Well, they’ve lost a parent. I don’t want them to be scared,'” she told People.

Angélil died of throat cancer in 2016 at the age of 73.

“I let them know, ‘You lost your father, [but] Mom had a condition, things were different. I won’t die. This is something I have to learn to live with,” she continued.

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The rare, incurable disease caused Dionne to suffer from excruciating muscle spasms, difficulty walking and breathing for years before she was diagnosed with SPS. Her symptoms became so debilitating that she canceled a planned Las Vegas residency and tour dates in late 2021 and 2022.

Although the Paris Olympics were her first performances since her diagnosis, she did surprise Taylor Swift with the Album of the Year award at the Grammys in February.

“I miss the people here so much, I miss them,” Dionne said of the job. “If I can’t run, I walk. If I can’t walk, I crawl…I won’t stop.”

Her in-depth documentary, I am: Celine Dionnow streaming on Prime Video.