London’s Sunday Mirror newspaper reported that the band had been tapped to partake in the 2012 Olympics closing event, saying Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey & Co. would “be the star attraction of a musical extravaganza which will mark the handover of the Olympic torch from London to Rio de Janeiro.”
The newspaper attributed the information to “a source close to The Who” saying, “When you’ve been around as long as The Who it can seem like you’ve seen and done it all.
“But the opportunity to play the biggest show on earth was too good to turn down, and Roger and Pete are delighted to be involved.”
Evidently the cited source wasn’t close enough to the band because a short rebuttal was posted on TheWho.com Monday shooting down the whole idea.
“Official: recent stories in the press regarding a performance by The Who at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in London next year are NOT TRUE.”
Of course, if you want to split hairs, the band is only denying its reported participation in the closing ceremony and doesn’t say whether it will appear at any other Olympics-connected event. Hmmm … Could that be the Sunday Mirror’s next claim?