Celine Dion announces first New Zealand show in 20 years

Celine Dion will perform in New Zealand in August.

The legendary Canadian singer will perform for one night at Spark Arena in Auckland on Saturday August 11, as part of her LIVE 2018 Tour.

The Spark Arena concert will mark Dion's first visit to New Zealand in over 20 years.

The superstar's ongoing Las Vegas residency is the most successful concert residency of all time, with Dion playing over 1000 shows to more than four million fans.

In an exclusive interview with TimeOut, Dion said taking her music on tour will be an exciting change from her Las Vegas shows.

"It's a different energy. When you go in a theatre, it's more classical, like an opera, but when you go on tour it's rock n roll.

"It's fun just to change the atmosphere, it's wonderful… I think it's my turn to visit you."

Though Dion has sung her biggest hits – such as My Heart Will Go On and The Power of Love – countless times, she says it's the fans that breathe new life into the tracks every time.

"When the curtain is closed, I'm not going to hide to you that sometimes I'm like 'oh no, not that song again'. But when the curtain opens, I look at [the fans'] faces and they make it alive for the first time again."

Dion experienced double tragedy two years ago when her husband René Angélil died from cancer, followed by her brother Daniel's death, also from cancer, just two days later.

However, the singer returned to the stage just one month later, with an emotional performance that made headlines around the world.

Tickets for Celine Dion's all-ages show are on sale to the general public from ticketmaster.co.nz on Monday February 19.

• Read our full, exclusive interview with Celine Dion in TimeOut, next Thursday.