Celine Dion lines up Beijing Games concert, theme bid

01/16/2008 2:00 AM, Reuters


Celine Dion will play her first concert in China in April and has submitted an entry for the Beijing Olympics theme song competition, Games organizers said on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old multiple Grammy Award winner has scheduled a stop on her worldwide tour at the newly renovated Workers' Stadium in the Chinese capital on April 13, which will be part of Beijing's official celebration of the Games.

"Her team has submitted the song to our Theme Song Selection Committee," said Kan Ke, deputy director of Culture and Ceremony Department of Beijing Organizing Committee for Olympic Games.

"We are delighted to have Celine, who has sung a widely praised song for a previous Olympics, involved."

Dion sang the theme song "The Power of the Dream" at the opening ceremony of 1996 Olympics in Atlanta but is best known for a song from the movie Titanic, "My Heart Will Go On," which was a huge hit in Asia.

The 64,000-seater Workers' Stadium will host soccer matches at the Beijing Games.

So far, more than 30 artists from China and abroad have submitted their works for the theme song but Kan said he was expecting more entrants.

"What the theme song will be ... will remain secrets until August 8, when the Games open," said Kan.

(Reporting by Liu Zhen, editing by Alex Richardson)