From The Guardian:

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.

Organisers had hoped to include the punk legends in an all-star tribute to the music that has defined Britain since its last Olympics, in 1948.

But the famously feisty band, led by John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten, has unsurprisingly declined to appear alongside Adele, Paul McCartney, Elton John, The Rolling Stones and the Spice Girls.

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.