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Céline Dion review – singer’s first live show in years marks a triumphant, emotional return

Plenitude Arena, Paris Dion wiped away tears and belted out the notes, giving an astounding performance despite her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome In 2022, when Céline Dion shared that she had been diagnosed with a rare incurable neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome (SPS), there was no guarantee that the 58-year-old would ever tour again. Her condition, which resulted in muscle spasms so strong that it left her with broken ribs , had made it impossible to perform, and in a 2024 documentary, I Am: Céline Dion , fans saw how the disease had constricted her once seemingly infallible voice. Through it all, though, Dion was resolute that she would one day return to the stage. “If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl,” she said in the film. “But I won’t stop.” Thankfully at the opening night of her sold out five-week residency in Paris, her first full-length concerts in six years, no crawling is needed: Céline Dion is back. She glides on to the stage in a black dress, an enormous diamond necklace clasped around her throat, and launches into On ne change pas. There are tears almost immediately: she struggles through the second verse, her voice cracking as she begins to cry. By the time the strum of Destin has kicked in, though, that emotion is replaced with sheer elation. “I made a promise to be back on stage. Singing for you. Singing for me,” she says. “Singing for life.” Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Alim Kheraj13 Sept

USA survive Spain scare to set up Olympic final rematch with France at Fiba World Cup

Four-time defending champions beat Spain 76-66 Stewart scores 16 as USA pull away in fourth Americans to face France in rematch of Paris final The United States advanced to the Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup final for the fifth consecutive time, pulling away in the fourth quarter to beat Spain 76-66 on Saturday in Berlin. Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and Kahleah Copper added 13 for the four-time defending champions, who were tied at 58 entering the fourth quarter before finally taking control. Jackie Young added 12 points. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Guardian sport12 Sept

Céline Dion's come back: Why did she choose Paris?

Céline Dion was set to make her long-awaited return to the stage in Paris on Saturday after years of battling a rare neurological disorder, with fans counting down the hours until showtime. But why did she choose this city? "It's not just the Olympics effect. Paris was the launch pad for her career. Beyond Quebec, through the '80s and early '90s, commentators have always mentioned that Paris is like a second home for her," says our guest Nick Rees-Roberts, professor of media, culture and communication at Sorbonne Nouvelle University.

France 24France 24•FRANCE2412 Sept

Air Montenegro sole bidder for all five PSO routes

Air Montenegro has emerged as the sole bidder in Montenegro’s tender for the operation of five subsidised Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes from Podgorica, submitting offers for each of the destinations included in the call. However, the carrier has not yet formally been awarded the contracts, with the Ministry of Transport currently evaluating the submitted bids. The tender, which closed on August 31, sought operators for services from Podgorica to Brussels, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, Zagreb and Bari. The five contracts have a combined estimated value of 4.79 million euros excluding VAT. Brussels carries the highest estimated contract value at 1.49 million euros, followed by Paris at 1.05 million, Frankfurt at 912.660 euros, Bari at 680.742 euros and Zagreb at 661.790 euros. Each route was tendered separately, meaning airlines were able to submit offers for one or more destinations. Despite indications of interest from more than one party prior to the tender’s closure, Air Montenegro was ultimately the only carrier to submit bids. The national airline confirmed it had applied for all five routes. The Ministry of Transport has said the procurement procedure remains in the evaluation stage and that further details will be announced following the adoption of a formal decision and the signing of contracts with the selected operator. The absence of competing bids does not automatically result in Air Montenegro being awarded the routes, as its offers must still comply with all tender requirements and be deemed acceptable. Under the tender conditions, each of the five routes must be maintained throughout the year with at least three weekly frequencies using aircraft with a minimum capacity of 110 seats. The selection criteria place a 90% weighting on the proposed cost per return flight and 10% on the seating capacity offered. The successful operator will also be required to provide a performance guarantee equivalent to 10% of the contract value. A penalty of 2.000 euros per cancelled flight can be imposed unless the cancellation has received prior approval from the Ministry’s designated working group. Air Montenegro CEO Vukadin Stojanović has rejected suggestions that participation in the scheme amounts to direct financial support for the state-owned carrier. “PSO is not aid to Air Montenegro, but payment for a specifically defined public-interest service to the carrier that wins an open procedure”, Mr Stojanović said. He noted that the purpose of the scheme is to secure stable year-round connectivity on routes which may be commercially viable during the peak summer months or at lower frequencies, but not necessarily at the minimum three weekly rotations required throughout the year. EX-YU Aviation News

EAEX-YU Aviation News•EX-YU Aviation (noreply@blogger.com)12 Sept

The Guide #260: From Oasis to K-pop, music is going mad for the big-screen documentary

A new wave of concert films and career retrospectives is drawing fans to cinemas – but why now? • Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up here There’s a moment towards the end of Don’t Look Back in Anger , the newly released documentary capturing Oasis’s 2025 reunion tour, that helps explain why those planet-conquering gigs happened in the first place. Liam and Noel Gallagher are sitting down together for the rarest of paired interviews – the first since the 2009 scrap that broke up the band and created such a huge appetite for their return. Had Oasis’s story ended with that backstage fight in Paris, both Gallaghers note, their legacy would have been one of astonishing success curtailed by “chaos”. Instead, those reunion gigs, as well as proving wildly lucrative, have allowed them to add a triumphant coda to that messy ending. “It feels like a weight has been lifted,” a surprisingly contemplative Liam says. That maybe makes Don’t Look Back in Anger sound more navel-gazing than this entertaining and often very funny film is – as you might expect of any doc that features a sweary rumination from Noel on Liam’s ability to balance a tambourine on his head (“If I did that I’d look an utter cunt, but somehow he does it and it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen”). Still, for all the droll quippery and bucket-hatted euphoria, there is something poignant and self-reflective at the film’s heart: hatchets are buried, departed friends are toasted and legacies are contemplated. What you leave behind was clearly on the minds of the brothers Gallagher throughout the tour and film. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Gwilym Mumford12 Sept