Céline Dion makes special appearance during Eurovision semi-final

Céline Dion delighted fans by making a special appearance during the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2025 on Tuesday night.

The legendary diva sent a pre-recorded video message to the televised live show in Basel, which saw five countries being eliminated from the song contest ahead of Saturday's grand final.

"I'd love nothing more than to be with you," Céline said in the video, appearing to rule out the possibility of an in-person appearance at ESC 2025. "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."

After her video message, four Eurovision contestants from 2024 – Jerry Heil, iolanda, Marina Satti and Silvester Belt – performed Céline's winning song from 1988, Ne partez pas sans moi.

MORE: See where every Céline Dion album and song charted in the UK

Céline launched her stratospherically successful career when she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988. Her French-language power ballad Ne partez pas sans moi was the last Swiss song to claim victory until Nemo topped last year's leaderboard with The Code, which became a UK Top 20 single.

Because of her special place in Swiss Eurovision history, many fans had been hoping she might be able to perform at this year's event.

But Céline – whose enviable Official Charts record includes five Number 1 albums and 27 Top 40 singles – has kept a relatively low profile since being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome in 2022.

The rare neurological disease forced her to cancel a planned North American tour that year, but she was able to make a showstopping performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, when she sang a classic Édith Piaf song, Hymne à l'amour.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 continues with the second semi-final on Thursday night.

The United Kingdom's competing act, Remember Monday, progress to the grand final automatically because of the UK's status as a "Big 5" country, but they'll still get a chance to perform their Eurovision song What the Hell Just Happened? during the live show.

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Article image: Getty