Celine Dion Vegas Residency Delayed Due To ‘Unforeseen Medical Symptoms’

The Nov. 5 opening of Celine Dion’s residency at the new Resorts World Theater in Las Vegas has been delayed. The shows affected were booked in November, January and early February, with the announcement citing unforeseen medical symptoms.

“Celine has been experiencing severe and persistent muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing,” the announcement from Resorts World Theater, AEG Presents and Concerts West reads. “Her medical team continues to evaluate and treat her. However, the symptoms she is experiencing are prohibiting her from participating in the ongoing rehearsals for the new show.

Set to kick off Nov. 5, canceled shows include Nov. 5-20 and Jan. 19 to Feb. 5, with tickets purchased through axs or the venue automatically refunded. The announcement says refunded ticketholders will have first crack at a presale for newly scheduled shows when they are announced.

“I’m heartbroken by this,” Celine Dion adds in a statement. “My team and I have been working on our new show for the past eight months, and to not be able to open this November saddens me beyond words. My partners at Resorts World Las Vegas and AEG have been working around the clock to get this brand-new state-of-the-art theatre ready, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I feel so bad that I’m letting them down, and I’m especially sorry for disappointing all the fans who’ve been making their plans to come to Las Vegas. Now, I have to focus on getting better… I want to get through this as soon as I can.”

 “Celine is family to us, and the most important thing now is for her to focus on feeling better,“ adds John Meglen, President and Co-CEO of Concerts West/AEG Presents, also known as longtime Rolling Stones promoter (along with Concerts West’s Paul Gongaware). “In our two-decade long relationship with Celine, we’ve certainly learned how dedicated and resilient she is, and that she is most happy when she’s on stage doing what she loves most, performing for her fans. We’re ready to announce new Las Vegas show dates whenever Celine is ready.”

 “If there’s anything these trying times have taught us, it’s that nothing is more important than your wellbeing,” said Scott Sibella, President of Resorts World Las Vegas. “While we are eager to debut the theatre, we support Celine in what we know was an incredibly difficult decision to delay her shows. On behalf of the entire Resorts World Las Vegas family, we wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming her to her new home when she feels ready and able to perform again.”

Dion, along with Concerts West, is often credited with pioneering the modern Vegas concert residency, with the shows often enough to put Dion near the very top of Pollstar’s Year End Tour charts and with the concept becoming a common concert play for some of the world’s top touring artists, from Garth Brooks to Lady Gaga to Bruno Mars, Santana and many more. 

Along with regular and semi-regular residency dates at the Colosseum in Las Vegas into 2019, Dion has toured worldwide in recent years and was able to complete a good chunk of her “Courage” world tour of 2019-2020, with more than $70 million grossed in the first quarter of 2020.