Celine Dion vows to brighten up Vegas strip

Adored diva Celine Dion is to return to ailing Las Vegas to restore its fortunes after the economic collapse all but shut the city down,

The French-Canadian singer debuted last week at Caesar’s Palace in the first of a series of contracted appearances over the next three years. Dubbed as a ‘messiah’, a more accurate descriptions of the impact she will have on a US city virtually shut down since 2008 is ‘a one-woman economic stimulus package’.

Las Vegas’s Centre for Business and Economic Research director Stephen Brown rates Celine higher as an attraction than a combination of Sinatra, Elvis and Liberace.

He estimates 7,000 jobs will be indirectly created amid revenues of around $114 million, with box office takings so far at over £10 million.

The diva’s last four-year run of Vegas performances saw every show sell out well in advance, with a total audience of three million and gross profits of $400 million. Caesar’s Palace had built her a 4,000 seat auditorium with a dehumidifying system to protect her voice from the dry desert air and every technical gizmo available

Dr Brown said the collapse in the famous ‘sin city’s’ economy was more severe than in the rest of the USA, with tourism crashing to an all-time low and hotels, casinos and restaurants slashing staff levels or going out of business altogether with massive losses.

Dion is the all-time best selling female vocalist, adored not just in the US but all over the world, with hits following hits and fans travelling everywhere to catch a glimpse of her. As such, although the decision to book her for a total of 210 shows over three years was controversial, there’s no doubt her massive pulling power will brighten up the scene on the Strip and have a knock-on effect on hotel bookings, general tourist spending and casino spending.

As for the lady herself, although she’s being paid half a million dollars per show, she just wants to make her audience happy and doesn’t see herself as an economic miracle.

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