Celine Dion was moved to tears as she returned to the stage in Paris on Saturday for her first full concert in nearly six years, marking a long-awaited comeback after a battle with stiff person syndrome, a rare and incurable autoimmune neurological condition.

More than 30,000 fans packed the Plenitude arena in La Defense, west of Paris, the largest indoor concert venue in Europe, for the opening night of the Canadian singer's sell-out residency.

Dion, 58, announced her diagnosis in 2022. She later described how the condition had caused muscle spasms so severe that her ribs were broken, and said there were times she could not walk. In her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, she offered further insight into the severity of her condition, including footage of a seizure.

The content of the concerts was kept secret ahead of the opening night. Dion told fans gathered outside her Paris hotel that she had been careful to protect her health, travelling only between her hotel and rehearsals and greeting supporters from a safe distance. She also told the crowd that the performances would be longer than her usual shows and advised them to wear comfortable shoes.

Hours before the concert, Dion greeted fans who had gathered outside Le Royal Monceau hotel, with some having arrived as early as 06:00 to catch a glimpse of the star.

The residency is scheduled to run across 26 concerts over eight months. The Paris region expects the series of dates in September, October, and May to generate up to 800 million euros, or approximately 690 million pounds, for the local economy. Analysts suggest the economic impact could surpass that of previous concerts in the city by Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

Demand for tickets was extraordinary. In April, approximately nine million people registered for the pre-sale lottery. The concerts sold out swiftly.

Dion's return also prompted celebrations beyond the arena. Thousands of fans without tickets attended a series of giant karaoke events held across France. Paris city hall organised a free outdoor karaoke for 10,000 people on Friday night in the north of the city, featuring Dion's hits including My Heart Will Go On, which appeared in the Oscar-winning film Titanic and became one of the best-selling singles by a female artist in music history.

Emmanuel Gregoire, the mayor of Paris, said the event would honour Dion as "an artist of the people" and a great unifier in France. "Music has that singular power to bring together and build a society," he said.

Dion grew up the youngest of 14 children in a small town near Montreal in French-speaking Quebec. She has a large and devoted fanbase in France, where her French-language ballads are among the most requested songs at karaoke venues. Her 1995 album D'eux became the biggest-selling Francophone album of all time.

With Paris currently her only venue, the residency is expected to draw fans from North America and around the world, meaning English-language hits will also feature alongside her French repertoire.

At the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris, a dedicated Celine Dion merchandise section drew steady trade, with some fans arriving before the store opened.

Alexandra, 36, a civil servant from the Paris region, purchased a T-shirt and a box of signature Celine Dion macarons. "It's important to me because I grew up with her music," she said. "My mother was a huge fan so I listened to Celine Dion songs on the way to school."

"Whenever we went on holiday, Celine Dion would be playing in the car. Her music is part of some of my best memories of childhood. She is humble and she has managed to stay very close to the people," she added.

"I've followed her health challenges. I thought she might not be able to perform again. But she has clearly set herself an incredible challenge and I hope she can manage these concerts without impacting her health. I think she'll be so lifted up by the fans' love for her that she will find strength in it."