Stiff Person Syndrome: Celine Dion cancels 40 concerts because of illness

Canadian singer Celine Dion has canceled nearly 40 concerts in Europe until April 2024, organizers of her tour announced Friday in a statement, a copy of which was received by AFP.

According to organizers of the tour, the star, who has a rare neurological disease, “continues to receive treatment,” announced in December the cancelation or postponement of her scheduled concerts in Europe between February and July 2023.

The statement quoted the 55-year-old star as saying, “I am making a huge effort to regain my strength, but concerts can be very difficult and it would be better to cancel everything for now, while waiting for it to actually be ready to stand again on stage.”

Stiff person syndrome

She performed the first 52 concerts of her Caridge World Tour global tour in North America in March 2020, but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The singer was unable to complete the tour as she soon announced that she was suffering from muscle contractions. Her next concert was scheduled in Paris on September 1.

“Debts have been found to be infected with Stiff Person Syndrome, a condition whose exact cause is still unknown, but believed to lie in autoimmunity.”

The syndrome affects about one in a million people and causes severe pain and difficulty in movement, preventing people from doing strenuous physical activities.

The Dion community has confirmed that “the medical team accompanying them is following the development and treatment of the disease”.

Tour organizers indicated that “the price of the canceled 42 concert tickets will be returned to the people who bought them”.

The singer considered that “continuing to postpone performances is not fair” as she did not know when she would be able to return to the stage.

Dion is one of the most popular artists in the world, and one of her most prominent songs is the 1997 film “Titanic”, “My Heart Will Go On”.