Organisers of the Rio Olympics have imposed a cost-cutting regime in order to stay within their £1.9billion organisational budget as concern rises about the economic crisis in Brazil.

A number of changes are being brought in that will affect the opening ceremony, the number of volunteers and the backdrops at some events. Organisers say they want to avoid asking the government to bail them out using public money.

Organisers are determined to keep to the operational budget of 7.4million Brazilian Reals for staging the Games - £1.9billion in current values though Brazilian's currency is plunging on the global markets.

The budget is separate to the money spent on building the venues and transport links.

Mario Andrada, communications director for Rio 2016, has said departments may have to find savings of 10 per cent overall.

Andrada said on Tuesday: "What we are trying to do is identify if there is any fat and save on the fat. We cannot go a penny over budget.

"We need to organise the games to be economically sustainable. There's no more space for lavish overspending."

There were widespread protests surrounding last year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil as the country's public were angered by the cost of staging the event, and Rio 2016 officials are determined to avoid a repeat.

Andrada added: "People get upset about luxury and excess, we have to tighten our belts.''

Plans for savings include having tents at Olympics venues rather than more solid structures. A reduction in the number of volunteers from 70,000 to 60,000 would also see significant savings regarding uniforms, training and food.

There is also some concern about the lack of demand for tickets with only 4million of the 7.5million Olympics and Paralympics tickets available having been snapped up. That is a serious concern for organisers - in London the problem was high demand for tickets - for whom ticket revenue is one of the main income sources.

In Brazil, only half of the 4million tickets reserved for the domestic market have been bought and organisers will now go to a system of selling them on a first come, first served basis.