Celine Dion has announced that she is delaying the opening of her new Las Vegas residency due to ill health.

The singing powerhouse, 53, had been due to begin her residency at the Resorts World Theatre next month, but has been suffering from “severe and insistent muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing”.

Dates scheduled from November 5 to 20 2021 and January 19 to February 5 of 2022, have now been cancelled.

Sharing the news in a statement on her Instagram, the Canadian songstress - whose hits include My Heart Will Go On and Because You Loved Me - said that she was “heartbroken” by the development.

The statement read: “My team and I have been working on our new show for the past eight months, and to not be able to open this November saddens me beyond words.

“My partners at Resorts World Las Vegas and AEG have been working around the clock to get this brand-new state-of-the-art theatre ready, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

“I feel so bad that I am letting them down, and I’m especially sorry for disappointing all the fans who’ve been making their plans to come to Las Vegas.”

She added: “Now I have to focus on getting better... I want to get through this as soon as I can. - Celine xx.”