CELINE Dion left Eurovision fans in tears as she made a surprise appearance during the semi-final of the song contest. The Canadian superstar, 57, stunned BBC viewers last night when she popped up in a pre-recorded video on screen. Rylan and Scott Mills were live from Basel, Switzerland, for the first semi-final of the competition, as 15 countries competed for ten places in Saturday’s grand final. Celine, who was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome – a condition which means her muscles tense uncontrollably, looked elegant in a grey suit as she appeared on screen. The globally famous singer said: "I'd love nothing more than to be with you. "Switzerland will forever hold a special place in my heart. It's the country that believed in me and gave me the chance to be part of something so extraordinary. "Winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988, it was a life-changing moment for me and I'm so thankful for everyone who supported me. "Now, 37 years later, I know. It's so beautiful and emotional to see Switzerland winning and hosting this incredible event once again. "To the people of Switzerland, thank you for your love. This night is yours and I hope you feel as proud as I do." Fans were left emotional at the touching video. One wrote: "That was beautiful. Celine Dion's song is actually one of my favourite Eurovision songs. "This tribute to Celine Dion's #Eurovision win in 1998 is emotional and beautiful. Well done #ESC2025 Proper respect to a legend." A second posted: "Little tears in my eyes Celine Dion ily." A third commented: "What a true legend you are Celine Dion!" "Celine Dion being unable to make it to Switzerland due to her health condition but still giving her love," a fourth said. Another added: "The Queen Celine Dion being back I can't', 'It's so sad Celine Dion couldn't attend Eurovision." CELINE'S HEALTH BATTLE There is currently no cure for the condition, which can leave sufferers as "human statues", sometimes unable to walk or talk. In 2022, Celine told her fans she is trying to do what she can to minimise the symptoms. She explained: “Hello everyone, I’m sorry it's taken me so long to reach out to you. I miss you all so much and can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person. “As you know I’ve always been an open book and I wasn’t ready to say anything before but I’m ready now. “I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it's been really difficult for me to face my challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through. “Recently I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff person syndrome which affects one in a million people. “While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all the spasms I’ve been having.” She continued: “Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I'm used to." Fans first started being concerned for Celine's health at the start of the year when she cancelled the North American dates of her Courage world tour from March 9 to April 22. Prior to that she had to cancel the start of her Las Vegas comeback residency after experiencing muscle spasms. The semi-final saw 10 acts qualify for Saturday's grand finale. Swedish entrants KAJ, whose song Bara Bada Bastu is the runaway favourite. As well as Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, San Marino, Estonia, Portugal, Ukraine and Albania have made it through to the final. That meant Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia and Slovenia are out of the competition. It comes after The Sun revealed that the Canadian singer was in talks to perform at Eurovision on Saturday, 37 years after winning the contest herself. The pop icon triumphed for Switzerland with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi in 1988, the country’s last victory before Nemo’s win with The Code last year. In March organisers confirmed they want her back as an interval act at this year’s final in Basel. Executive producers Reto Peritz and Moritz Stadler confirmed they have had discussions with her team, but a performance is up in the air due to her health battles. They said: “We won’t know until a few weeks beforehand whether she feels fit enough.” Celine has stiff person syndrome, which makes singing tough. But she made a grand return at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Madonna and Justin Timberlake are among the stars who have performed during the Eurovision interval. The UK's entry for 2025 is girlband Remember Monday. The bookies favourites to win the competition is currently Sweden.