George Michael defends singing new song White Light at Olympic closing ceremony

George Michael performs during the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Credit: Andrew Milligan/PA Archive

Singer George Michael has defended his choice of song at the Olympic closing ceremony.

The former Wham! star sang Freedom 90 and, more controversially, his new single White Light, which led to accusations that he was trying to plug the song to the large global audience.

Michael responded to the criticism by tweeting that he did not "regret" his choice and sang White Light as a "thank you" to fans.

George Michael said he chose White Light as a "thank you" to his fans Credit: Twitter / @GeorgeMichael

Michael's appearance at the London 2012 ceremony was his first performance since a near-fatal bout of pneumonia last year.

His decision to perform White Light was widely ridiculed by those in the music industry.

Singer KT Tunstall and Steve Anderson, musical director for stars including Kylie Minogue, tweeted:

White Light, which was released last week, is currently at number two in the iTunes chart.