Olly Murs hits back at criticism over cancelling Olympic parade gig: It has nothing to do with football

The singer was accused of cancelling the gig in favour of watching football
Speaking out: Olly Murs wants to 'clarify' his decision
Sean Gallup/Getty
Emma Powell19 October 2016
The Weekender

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Murs, 32, was scheduled to perform at the Olympic and Paralympic parade in Manchester to celebrate the record-breaking performances of athletes at Rio 2016 on Monday night.

But a spokesman for the singer said that he was unable to perform due to "extenuating circumstances".

He was later pictured watching Manchester United take on Liverpool at Anfield.

Manchester City Council’s city centre spokesman Pat Karney told Manchester Evening News he was “not impressed” by Murs’ last minute decision to pull out.

He said the Troublemaker singer will not be invited to any other official events in the city.

Murs has now hit back at the critics and called on Karney to message him for a “chat” to clear up the confusion.

Saves the day: Ricky Wilson of The Kaiser Chiefs performs during the Olympic and Paralympic athletes celebration parade
Martin Rickett/PA

He tweeted: “Can I just clarify that I was always going to watch football on Monday night and perform at the Olympic gig in Manchester too..

“But my management decided the day before to pull me from the gig as they were changing my performance from what was agreed.

“This decision had nothing to do with the football. So if Manchesters counsellor wants to call me, DM me sir and let's have a chat!!”

A spokesman for Murs told the Manchester Evening News: “Olly was asked to play the Olympic and Paralympic parade in Manchester on Monday and as a huge supporter of the Olympics, agreed wholeheartedly.

“Sadly after weeks of preparation, 24 hours before the parade he was told to completely change what had been agreed with his performance, and as such his team made the decision to pull him from the show.”

The Kaiser Chiefs stepped in and performed a string of hits in the city’s Albert Square as the fleet of athletes arrived for the celebrations which were attended by more than 100,000 people.

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