Britpop icons Blur will headline a show at London's Hyde Park to celebrate the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics on August 12th. The bill for the event, which will include giant screens displaying highlights from the official closing ceremony, will also feature performances by New Order and the Specials.
Blur will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the BRIT awards tonight in London. The band are set to perform a version of their 1999 single "Tender" with a 32-piece gospel choir, at the ceremony, which is the British record industry's rough equivalent to the Grammy Awards.
Blur reunited in 2009 for a series of concerts in Europe that focused on hits from throughout their catalog, but the group's recent performance at the War Child Benefit in London included a brand new composition titled "Under the Westway." Though the band have been working on new material sporadically over the past few years, it remains to be seen whether or not they will actually put out a new record this year, or if they will introduce more new songs as they tour the United Kingdom this spring.
Rollingstone