In light of rumors that Daft Punk might reunite for a performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the games’ opening ceremony director has confirmed today that the duo has declined an invitation to perform.
Director Thomas Jolly’s comments sparked serious buzz yesterday, when he told French radio station France Inter, “Daft Punk would be very happy to be part of the ceremony. You can’t not think of Daft Punk when you think of a successful international showcase for a French group,” according to a report from Sotiraparis.com.
Today, however, Jolly posted a clarification that Daft Punk will not participate.
“My comments were confusing and generated a lot of expectations,” Jolly wrote on X. “I must clarify: After discussing a possible presence at the ceremony, the group’s decision is not to participate. I respect this decision and apologize for the ambiguity of my comments.”
According to Le Parisien, Daft Punk members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met with the ceremony’s organizing committee “several months ago,” but no agreement had been met.
“Bringing Daft Punk together was obviously one of the first ideas I had. They are extremely talented and have a great international aura,” Jolly told Le Parisien. “But do they want to reform in the time of an epilogue to their career, when they very thoughtfully announced their separation?”
A potential performance would have been timely, as Daft Punk are currently celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Grammy-winning 2013 album Random Access Memories.
To mark the occasion, the group has put out a special anniversary reissue of the album with 35 minutes of unreleased demos and outtakes.
They have also released their Memory Tapes documentary series–covering the album’s creation and influence with input from key collaborators like Julian Casablancas, Todd Edwards, and Pharell Williams.
The duo will release a special “drumless edition” of the album next month.
Featured image from Daft Punk.
