Celine Dion broke down on stage on Tuesday, October 3, during her first performance at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace following the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. The singer opened up the show with a message for the victims and the families who were hurt by the attack on Sunday, October 1.
“On Sunday we lost too many beautiful, innocent souls, and so many are still suffering,” Dion said to the audience. “But tonight we’re going to let these families know that we are supporting them and that we will help them through their tragic loss.”
Dion announced during her speech that along with show partners AEG Presents and Caesars Entertainment, she will be donating the proceeds from the show to aid the victims and their families.
“They are going to need a lot of love. A ton of emotional support, as well as a great deal of financial aid,” she told the crowd. “So I want you to know that all the proceeds for tonight’s show are being donated to the victims’ families on your behalf.”
“We dedicate tonight’s show to all of the victims and their families, and to the first responders, and to the doctors and nurses who are working around the clock to save lives, and to so many heroes who did whatever they could to help complete strangers in a time of desperate need,” Dion said. “Thank you so much for being here.”
The singer went on to sing her powerful ballads, “I Surrender” and “Because You Loved Me.” She also revealed to fans that she grappled with whether or not she should cancel her performance following the shooting. She said, “For you, it’s, ‘Do we still go to Celine’s show on Tuesday only two days after the nightmare?’ For me, it’s, ‘Can I still do my show? Should I still do my show?’ These are difficult questions.”
Other artists have chosen to cancel or postpone shows after the wake of the shootings, including Jason Aldean who canceled three upcoming concerts and Jennifer Lopez who postponed three of her All I Have concert dates.
As previously reported, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old gunman, opened fire on the 20,000 festivalgoers during the country music concert from the 32nd floor of his hotel suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Sunday night. Paddock died of what police believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The attack is now the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
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