SBS Dateline | Red Ken Speaks

When former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, known infamously for his left wing views as ‘Red Ken’, signed the contract to bid for the Olympics, he says he wasn’t thinking about the sporting contest, but rather the regeneration that the multi-billion dollar event would bring.

So is he happy with the legacy that the Games will leave the city and what does he make of the ever growing corporatisation of the world’s biggest sporting event?

Yalda Hakim puts the questions to him in an interview for Dateline's special program on the London Olympics.

Always outspoken, Livingstone is one of few people daring to offer the IOC advice on how to run its business.

He also tells her that despite the recession, it would have been even more of an economic disaster not to have done the Olympics.

And what are his reflections on a life in politics?

After narrowly losing the mayoral vote in May, he says he won’t be up for election again, but he also won’t be leaving quietly.

WATCH - Click to see Yalda’s interview, or watch the rest of Dateline’s Olympics Special.

FULL INTERVIEW - Click to see the interview with Ken Livingstone in full.

WORLD NEWS AUSTRALIA - Follow SBS's news coverage of the London Olympics, which run from 27th July until 12th August, including the latest tweets and posts from athletes and experts on the SBS Olympic Social Hub.

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