Robbie Williams Pulls Out of Olympic Closing Ceremony

English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams has pulled out of the Closing Ceremony at the 2012 London Olympics.

Williams and his wife Ayda Field are expecting their first child in August, the same time Williams was scheduled to perform at August 12 Olympic Closing Ceremony.

A source told the British newspaper Daily Mirror, ”Robbie quit a few weeks ago. He had been lined up to perform solo material and it was hoped he would sing with Take That…However, just as rehearsals were kicking off, he said there was an unfortunate clash of dates.”

As you can imagine, with only 25 days until the games begin, this has caused quite a headache for the event organizers.

“It meant organisers had to adjust the entire schedule because Robbie is an extremely high-profile performer and had been given such an important role in the finale,” the source told Daily Mirror.  “A lot of the organisers are now very unhappy. It’s such a huge moment for British music and they thought they had the perfect line-up.”

“Obviously Robbie has to put his family commitments first. It’s just a shame he didn’t realise earlier.”

Williams is the best selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom and one of the highest selling artists of all time with over 70 million albums sold.  Six of his albums are among the Top 100 Best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.

The Closing Ceremony of this year’s Olympic Games is titled ‘A Symphony of British Music’, and will celebrate British music over the last 50 years.  The ceremony will feature over 4,100 performers and will include a handover from one host city to the next (London to Rio de Janiero).