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Eurovision Says 'Wait And See' on Celine Dion

Celine Dion's recorded message to the Eurovision Song Contest was played during the penultimate dress rehearsal. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
Celine Dion's recorded message to the Eurovision Song Contest was played during the penultimate dress rehearsal. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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Eurovision Says 'Wait And See' on Celine Dion

Celine Dion's recorded message to the Eurovision Song Contest was played during the penultimate dress rehearsal. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
Celine Dion's recorded message to the Eurovision Song Contest was played during the penultimate dress rehearsal. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Just hours before Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest grand final, organizers were tight-lipped about whether ailing superstar Celine Dion might make an emotional appearance, 37 years after winning the competition.
"Father Christmas exists, and you'll have to wait and see," Eurovision director Martin Green told a press conference, when asked directly if Dion might show up.

At both of Friday's dress rehearsals for the final, as at Tuesday's semi-final, a video message from Dion was played, with the presenters announcing that she could not be with them in Basel, Switzerland for the world's biggest televised live music event, AFP said.

But Eurovision 2025 co-executive producer Moritz Stadler said on Saturday that the show was still being adapted.

"There are constant changes. Our team has been working overnight until very late," he said. "We continue changing it for the grand final."

BBC television reported that Dion's private plane was in Basel, but did not know if she was on it.

And Swiss newspaper Blick said that selected staff with printed schedules for the final "can see that the recorded greeting from the rehearsals and the first Eurovision semi-final is no longer included".

"This indicates that the clip played during rehearsals has been replaced," the tabloid added.

Dion's health 'top priority'
Dion, 57, is now a global music icon. But she has never forgotten the role the song contest played in launching her on the international stage.

Dion was 20 and little-known outside her native French-speaking Quebec province in Canada when she won Eurovision in 1988, representing Switzerland with the song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi".
Switzerland duly hosted Eurovision 1989, where Dion opened the TV extravaganza with her winning French-language song.

She then premiered the single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" -- heralding her career switch into English, which set her on the path to global chart domination.

With Eurovision 2025 returning to Switzerland, organizers reached out to Dion.

However, the singer is now battling a debilitating health condition and rarely appears in public.

"We are still in contact with Celine Dion. As always, her health remains our top priority," a Eurovision 2025 spokeswoman told AFP on Friday.

'Music unites us'
Dion first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a painful autoimmune disorder which is progressive and for which there is no cure.

She was forced to cancel a string of shows scheduled for 2023 and 2024, saying she was not strong enough to tour.
But she gave a surprise, show-stopping performance from the Eiffel Tower at the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony.

"I'd love nothing more than to be with you in Basel right now," Dion said in her video clip.

"Winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988 was a life-changing moment for me.

"Music unites us -- not only tonight, not only in this wonderful moment. It is our strength, our support, and our accompaniment in times of need."

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Entertainment

Eva Marie Saint, Oscar Winner of Hollywood Classics, Dies at 102

Actress Eva Marie Saint attends the 20th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence In Production Design Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Actress Eva Marie Saint attends the 20th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence In Production Design Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
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Eva Marie Saint, Oscar Winner of Hollywood Classics, Dies at 102

Actress Eva Marie Saint attends the 20th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence In Production Design Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Actress Eva Marie Saint attends the 20th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence In Production Design Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)

Eva Marie Saint, the pale, willowy actor who won an Academy Award for her first movie, “On the Waterfront,” and starred opposite Cary Grant in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “North by Northwest,” has died. She was 102. 

Saint, whose acting work lasted well into her 90s, died at her home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, confirmed family representative Jeff Sanderson. 

Saint had one of the most spectacular debuts in Hollywood history, as the love interest of Marlon Brando’s tormented Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront,” and her first trip to the Academy Awards was memorable too. Pregnant with her first child, Saint accepted her Oscar from Frank Sinatra and smilingly murmured a unique winner's speech: “I think I may have the baby right here.” (Her son, Darrell, was born two days later.) 

The award for the 1954 classic made her an instant star, but she soon astonished Hollywood with a firm independence that would mark her career. She refused offers of studio contracts and declined chances to follow up on her great success, explaining that she was taking time off to become acquainted with her new son. (A daughter, Laurette, was born in 1958.) 

In her first decade in Hollywood, Saint appeared in a mere seven films. She declined such top-level productions as “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” with Gregory Peck, “Summer and Smoke” with Laurence Harvey and “The Rainmaker” with Burt Lancaster. She credited her husband, TV and stage director Jeffrey Hayden, with persuading her to star in Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” the classic 1959 thriller in which Saint plays a spy who seduces Grant, but ends up falling for him. 

“I vividly remember him saying, ‘Honey, I think you should find a quiet spot. I’ll take care of the children and I want you to really think about this and reread this script,’” she told Vanity Fair in 2014. “He was so right. And that’s what husbands are for.” 

Instead of being put off by her selectivity, studios continued offering her starring roles in such films as “Exodus” (with Newman), “Raintree County” (Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift) and “All Fall Down,” with Warren Beatty. 

She turned more to television in the 1970s and enjoyed renewed popularity in the 1980s as the mother of Cybill Shepherd in the hit sitcom “Moonlighting” and as Tom Hanks’ mother in the film comedy “Nothing in Common.”  

She won an Emmy for the 1990 miniseries “People Like Us,” and had roles in such 21st century movies as “Because of Winn-Dixie,” “Superman Returns” and “Winter’s Tale,” adapted from Mark Helprin's novel of the same name. In 2021, she played Marisa Tomei's aunt in the brief audio play “The Bus Ride,” part of “The Pack Podcast.” 

Saint was married to Hayden for 55 years, until his death in 2016. 

That was her real name  

When Saint emerged in the public consciousness, many believed her theatrical-sounding name must have been invented. She was born with it on July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey. The family moved to Delmar, a small town near Albany, New York, where her father was a Goodrich Rubber Co. manager. Eva's goal was to become a third-grade teacher like her mother, but at Bowling Green State University in Ohio she tried out for a play and won the leading role. 

After graduation she lived with her parents in Flushing, Long Island, and began hunting for acting jobs in Manhattan. After a fruitless year, she landed a two-line role as a telephone operator on a radio drama and soon was working steadily on soap operas and nighttime dramas, appearing for two years as Claudia on “One Man's Family.” Network television was booming in the early 1950s, and her looks and dramatic sense made her a favorite with casting people and producers. 

A critical turn in Saint's career came when she auditioned before Elia Kazan and was accepted into the Actors Studio, which shaped a generation of method-actor stars. She credited acting coach Lee Strasberg with helping her overcome her shyness. 

“Lee Strasberg, when he got to know me a little bit, gave me a scene to do where I had to cry in front of my peers,” she told The Santa Barbara Independent in 2009. “I worried about it, I worked on it, I tried to use what I was learning at the studio. I finally did the scene, and I cried, and my peers were crying with me. It was just an incredible moment for me.” 

Saint was rejected for the single female role in the play “Mister Roberts,” but was hired to understudy the actor chosen, Jocelyn Brando, Marlon's sister. In six frustrating months Saint never got to substitute for Brando. She finally made it to Broadway in “A Trip to Bountiful,” which she had played on television. 

Kazan invited her to try out for the female lead in “On the Waterfront” by improvising a scene with Brando. She was told to try to stop a young man from entering her apartment. She told the Los Angeles Times in 2001: “All I know is that Marlon got in the door and turned on the music. We started dancing. He flicked my skirt. Kazan saw the sparks fly, and that's how I got the part.” 

Entertainment

Saudi Film Commission Set to Launch Fourth Edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026

Saudi Film Commission Set to Launch Fourth Edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026
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Saudi Film Commission Set to Launch Fourth Edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026

Saudi Film Commission Set to Launch Fourth Edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026

The fourth edition of Saudi Film Confex 2026 will be held on October 28 and 29 at JAX Film Studios in Riyadh under the patronage of Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Film Commission Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan.

Held under the supervision of the Saudi Film Commission and organized by Benchmark, the event will take place under the theme "Industry Shapers' Edition," bringing together film sector leaders, decision-makers, professionals, and industry specialists.

The new edition will continue the Confex's role as a key catalyst for advancing Saudi Arabia's film industry and expanding investment and partnership opportunities across this vital sector, in line with the National Culture Strategy under Saudi Vision 2030.

The Confex serves as a specialized business platform that brings together the full spectrum of the film ecosystem, from production and distribution companies and technical service providers to investment entities, financing funds, educational institutions, and relevant government bodies. It creates opportunities to forge partnerships, sign agreements and exchange expertise across the industry.

The 2026 edition will take the form of a focused, two-day industry event designed for film professionals and sector stakeholders. It will serve two principal groups: executives and decision-makers, including corporate leaders and representatives of government entities and nonprofit organizations active in the sector; and industry professionals and specialists, including producers, directors, screenwriters, production and distribution companies, and creative and technical service providers.

The program will feature a conference with panel discussions, an exhibition showcasing companies operating across the film sector, and specialized workshops. These activities will enable participants to exchange knowledge and expertise and connect with organizations and companies working throughout the industry.

The 2026 edition builds on the Confex's track record of tangible partnerships. Across its first three editions, 94 agreements were signed with a combined value exceeding SAR1 billion.

Through the Confex, the Saudi Film Commission reinforces Saudi Arabia's position as a regional hub for film industry development and support, contributing to the growth of a thriving Saudi film sector capable of competing regionally and globally.

Entertainment

Kanye West's Planned Russia Concerts Cancelled, Organizer Says

FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
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Kanye West's Planned Russia Concerts Cancelled, Organizer Says

FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo

Two concerts by ‌US rapper Kanye West in Russia that had been scheduled for October have been cancelled, the show's organizer, Say Agency, said.

West, who is also known as Ye, had been due to perform in St Petersburg. However, a week after the concerts were announced in mid-August, the venue due to host them said it had never signed a contract with the organizers, a separate Moscow-based company.

The ‌shows had ‌remained in limbo ever since, ‌with ⁠organizers providing no clear ⁠confirmation of whether they would go ahead.

"Friends, it is with sincere regret that we inform you that the YE concerts in St. Petersburg will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates. We will issue an official ⁠statement regarding the status of the project ‌and our future plans ‌in the near future," Say Agency posted on Telegram ‌on Wednesday.

West has faced concert cancellations and ‌performance bans in several European countries this year following a series of past antisemitic remarks, including praise for Adolf Hitler, and the use of Nazi imagery.

In January West ‌apologized for the remarks, which he attributed to an undiagnosed brain injury and ⁠untreated bipolar disorder.

Had ⁠the concerts gone ahead, West would have become one of the biggest international music stars to visit Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022.

The planned gigs had drawn criticism from some Russian pro-war military bloggers, who questioned the appropriateness of hosting a US performer while Washington continues to provide military and financial support to Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the planned shows, calling them unacceptable and citing what she described as the West's "glorification" of Hitler.