Robbie Williams opts out of Olympic ceremony

London, July 3 (IANS) Singer Robbie Williams has opted out of the closing ceremony of London Olympics to be with his pregnant wife, who is due to give birth at the same time.

"He was asked to do the closing ceremony but due to the imminent birth of his baby, he couldn't take part," mirror.co.uk quoted Williams' spokesperson as saying.

The 38-year-old singer's wife Ayda Field is due to give birth in August and although the singer was set to perform, he has not backed out leaving organisers with a scheduling nightmare.

"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," said a source.

"However, just as rehearsals were kicking off, he said there was an unfortunate clash of dates. 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.

"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," the source added.