Music ESC producers flirt with singer Céline Dion as a star guest

The producers of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2025 in Basel are flirting with singer Céine Dion as a star guest. "Of course it's an issue for us," said executive co-producer Reto Peritz to Sonntagsblick.

Céline Dion has a connection to Switzerland and the ESC, said Peritz. The creative process will start in the next few weeks and such questions will certainly be asked then. Peritz did not respond to the question of whether Dion had been contacted for a performance.

The Canadian Dion won the Grand prix eurovision de la chanson, as the ESC used to be called, for Switzerland in Dublin in 1988 at the age of 20 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi" - just one point ahead of the English pop singer Scott Fitzgerald. Winning the music competition was the beginning of her international breakthrough. A year later, she was back on the ESC stage in Lausanne as the previous year's winner.

In summer 2019, Dion performed for the last time for the time being. In December 2022, she publicly declared that she was suffering from the incurable disease stiff person syndrome. This is associated with severe muscle spasms. With a performance on the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Dion celebrated a spectacular comeback after a long period of treatment and four years away from the stage.

"The idea behind the ESC is to put talent in the spotlight and not let it be overshadowed by world-famous stars," Peritz continued. "But of course it also has its appeal to have such a name in the show."

SDA