• Group could have played in Olympic Stadium in August • Ceremony linked to decades since the second world war

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

The Sex Pistols have declined an invitation to perform at the London 2012 closing ceremony, it was reported on Tuesday.

The group, according to the Times, had been given the opportunity to play during A Symphony of British Music, due to take place in the Olympic Stadium on 12 August.

But the surviving members, led by John Lydon, have said '"no", says the newspaper.

Olympic Games organisers are reported to want the ceremony to feature music linked to the decades since the second world war.

The Sex Pistols would have represented the punk era – the era they helped to instigate.

Lydon frequently tours with Public Image Ltd (PiL), a band he re-formed in 2009. A spokesman for the Sex Pistols declined to comment, says the Times.