A genuine first. The Musicians Union and the Incorporated Society of Musicians, often at unproductive loggerheads in the past, have put out a joint statement:

“‘LOCOG MUST DENOUNCE NON-PAYMENT OF MUSICIANS’

“The Musicians’ Union (MU) and the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) have today written to Seb Coe to protest at the continued practice of asking musicians to work for free during the Olympics.

“The ISM and the MU have also drawn Lord Coe’s attention to the 5,000 petition signatures and 11,000 Facebook group supporters for the campaign against professional musicians being expected to work for free at the Olympics.

“The two organisations are calling for LOCOG to publicly denounce the practice of asking musicians to work without payment and commit to ensuring that the legacy of the Games is not one where musicians are expected to work for free.” (statement ends)