One Direction should have closed the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, says Tony Hadley.

The British boyband and global phenomenon were left out of the extravagant opening ceremony on July 27 as London 2012 officially opened.

A host of music stars played the event, from opener Frank Turner to ceremony closer Sir Paul McCartney, but Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley believes the honour of the ending the ceremony should have gone to One Direction. He said:

"If I'm honest I would have liked a really young band to have closed it. If you've got Sir Steve Redgrave handing over the torch to the youngsters, it would have been nice to have had One Direction. They're our biggest export at the moment, pure pop."

He continued: "One Direction with the Royal Philharmonic, with about 100 singers in a choir, behind them. To me that would have been the new generation kind of thing."

One Direction meanwhile have been rumoured to perform at the Olympics' closing ceremony on August 12, but no official word has been issued yet.