Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji to perform at Notre Dame cathedral reopening

Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji has been selected to perform at the highly anticipated reopening of the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on 7 December.

The artist, known for her powerful and emotive voice, will perform alongside opera singers Pretty Yende from South Africa and Julie Fuchs from France during a concert for the cathedral on Saturday.

She will also perform alongside Chinese pianist Lang Lang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Benin-born singer Angelique Kidjo, further cementing her reputation as one of Lebanon's most celebrated artists.

In 2015, Tawaji gained prominence in France by participating in the fourth season of 'The Voice: la plus belle voix', where she was coached by Mika and reached the semi-finals.

Following this, she was cast as Esmeralda in the 2016 revival of the musical 'Notre-Dame de Paris', performing extensively in Paris and internationally.

Her relationship with the city was further solidified with a solo concert at the prestigious L'Olympia on 29 May.

VIPs flock to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame

The reopening of Notre Dame on the weekend is expected to be a high-security affair, with a repeat of some measures used during the Paris Olympics and the sealing-off to tourists of the cathedral's island location in the heart of the French capital.

After more than five years of reconstruction following the fire that devastated Notre Dame in 2019, invite-only ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday will usher in its rebirth.

Police chief Laurent Nuñez said only people with invitations and the island's residents will have access to the Ile de la Cité in the middle of the River Seine, which includes Notre Dame and habitually hums with tourists.

He said about 50 heads of state and government are expected and that security arrangements are drawing on the police measures that sealed off large sections of central Paris for the Paris Games' flamboyant opening ceremony.

"A very high level of security will be applied," Nuñez said in an interview published on Monday in Le Parisien.

The first celebrations starting on Saturday afternoon will blend religious ritual and showbiz.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside at a reopening service, banging on Notre Dame's shuttered doors with his staff to reopen them, according to the cathedral's website.

The archbishop will also symbolically reawaken Notre Dame's thunderous grand organ.

The fire that melted the cathedral's lead roofing coated the huge instrument in toxic dust. Its 8,000 pipes, ranging in size from that of a pen to over 10 meters (33 feet) tall, have been painstakingly disassembled, cleaned, and returned.

There will also be psalms, prayers and singing. French President Emmanuel Macron will attend and address the VIP guests.

On Sunday, the Paris archbishop will also lead an inaugural Mass and consecration of the new altar.

Nearly 170 bishops from France and other countries will join the celebration, as well as priests from all 106 parishes in the Paris diocese, the cathedral's website says.

It says Mass will be followed by a "fraternal buffet" for the needy.

Agencies contributed to this report.