Music

Heartbroken Celine Dion cancels ‘Courage’ tour after ‘difficult’ stiff person syndrome diagnosis

Celine Dion announced “with tremendous disappointment” Friday that she is canceling her “Courage” world tour to focus on her health.

The “Because You Loved Me” singer, who was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in December 2022, shared a list of her 42 scrapped European dates via Instagram alongside a message expressing her heartbreak.

“I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%,” she began.

Celine Dion announced that she is canceling her “Courage” world tour. Getty Images
Dion was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in 2022. AFP via Getty Images

“It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again.”

Dion assured fans that she is “not giving up,” however, and “can’t wait to see” them again.


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Her team shared that tickets will be refunded via the original point of sale.

She shared her diagnosis in a tearful video. celinedion/Instagram

According to the National Institutes of Health, stiff person syndrome is a “rare, progressive neurological disorder” that can cause stiff muscles in the torso, arms and legs.

When the Grammy winner first shared her diagnosis in an emotional Instagram video last year, she noted that she had been “dealing with problems with [her] health for a long time.”

“Recently I have been diagnosed with a very rare neurological syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people,” she continued at the time, explaining that the condition was the cause of all the muscle spams she had been experiencing since 2021.

The syndrome is incredibly rare and causes muscle spasms. GC Images

“Courage” was Dion’s first tour in over a decade.

It began in Canada in September 2019 and was initially put on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The powerhouse vocalist’s persistent health issues then forced her to repeatedly postpone her shows, with Las Vegas journalist Scott Roeben going so far as to tell Page Six exclusively in December that she “may not be able to return to the stage” at all.