Posted on: June 29, 2024, 11:27h.
Last updated on: June 29, 2024, 12:03h.
Celine Dion helped make the 2024 NHL Draft, the first sports-related event held inside the Las Vegas Sphere, a memorable one on Friday.
The Las Vegas icon, whose singing career has been sidelined by a rare and incurable neurological disease, announced the fifth overall choice of the night on behalf of the Montreal Canadiens, her home team.
“My Heart Will Go On” singer was accompanied to the stage by her 23-year-old son. René-Charles Dion Angélil, who is also a singer and goes by RC Angélil.
After being handed a mic, she opened an envelope, then paused for effect, before reading the name Ivan Demidov. The 18-year-old Russian forward hugged friends and family before walking onstage to shake Dion’s hand.
NHL announcers called it “the most dramatic draft announcement of all time.”
The draft was also the first event broadcast live from inside the Sphere and the first broadcast live on the largest LED screen in the world, the Shere’s exterior Exosphere.
This was Dion’s first known visit to the venue.
The draft was held just a few days after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and the release of a heartbreaking new Amazon Prime documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion,” which documents the singer’s struggle with stiff-person syndrome.
