Acclaimed singer Celine Dion has halted her upcoming tour and cancelled shows in Europe after she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder.

The Canadian singer announced on Thursday that she had been diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome, which causes spasms that affect her ability to walk and sing.

What did Celine say?

"Unfortunately, the spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to,'' Dion said in an emotional video posted to Instagram.

"It hurts me to tell you today this means I won't be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February," she added.

The "Courage" world tour — which was halted at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 — was due to continue in Europe in early 2023.

Most of those concerts have now been postponed until 2024, while others have been cancelled altogether.

What do we know about the disorder?

Stiff-Person Syndrome causes muscle stiffness and spasms. The exact cause of the condition is unknown, and there is no cure.

It affects around one in a million people, normally between the ages of 30 to 60, and affects twice as many women as men.

The 54-year-old singer from Quebec rose to worldwide stardom in the 1990s with hits like "The Power of Love," "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" and "Titanic" theme "My Heart Will Go On."

The singeris receiving support from doctors and her children to improve her condition.

"All I know is singing, it's what I've done all my life and it's what I love to do the most," said Dion, breaking into tears.