-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN TOKIO
In early November 1982, a few days after the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival, wich took place at the Budokan Hall in Tokio, Japan, Celine Dion took part on a special gala where she sang five songs for an audience of ambassadors and high Japanese government officials. There was a very funny anecdote about this event. At the banquet that followed the gala, Celine sat with her mother at the head table. After a heavily spiced soup that she managed to choke down, what she dreaded might happen, did. She was served raw fish with herbs, a little rice and all kinds of strange sauces. She remembered what she´d promised her manager Rene Angelil on board the plane. Figuring it was something like the chickpea paste she´d eaten in Lebanese restaurants, Celine took a whole mouthful of hot wasabi mustard. She thought her head would explode. Through her tears, she watched anxious-looking faces swim in and out of focus. When her head cleared, everyone was standing around her. They brought her damp towels to cool her brow and handkerchiefs to blow her nose. She was offered water, sake, even sugar. Once she got her wits about her, she explained through her interpreter what had happened. Everyone burst out laughing. Suddenly she was the queen of the party. Her tablemates were relieved and happy, and went on at great length to praise the wonders of Japanese cooking. They bombarded her with questions about her family, her country, the snow and the wide-open spaces. She was delighted.
IN MONTREAL
On November 8, 1982 Celine Dion returned to Montreal, Quebec, Canada after won the Golden Medal at the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival, wich took place at the Budokan Hall in Tokio, Japan on October 31, 1982. Celine, her mother Thérèse and her manager Rene Angelil arrived to the Montreal International Airport in Dorval, Quebec where a crowd greeted her at the airport. There were loads of flowers, stuffed frogs and teddy bears, cameras and microphones. Rene Levesque, the premier of Quebec at the time, insisted on meeting her personally and congratulating her in the name of all Quebeckers. Celine was photographed with her parents Thérèse and Adhémar Dion, her manager Rene, and his wife Anne-René. In reference to this day, Celine has said: "Arriving back in Quebec was unforgettable. At the Montreal airport, a crowd was waiting for me with flowers, teddy bears, and velvet frogs. TV cameras were pointed at me and microphones were thrust toward me. My brother Paul had brought us the newspapers. All of them were talking about the grand prize I´d won in Tokyo" (from an extract of the book "My Story, My Dream").
ON MAGAZINE
On November 13, 1982 Celine Dion appeared on the cover of the famous magazine "Echos Vedettes", along with her mother, Thérèse Tanguay. It was published in Quebec, Canada.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
