• Organisers hope 2m tickets will be sold but only 300,000 have been so far • Budget shortfall has led to closure of venues and dismantling of facilities

The Rio 2016 Paralympics is to be downsized amid the most challenging circumstances faced in its 56-year history, with venues being closed and services cut.

With only 12% of tickets having been sold and a serious budget shortfall, the International Paralympic Committee’s president, Sir Philip Craven, said that following crisis talks with the interim Brazilian president, Michael Temer, and the Rio mayor, Eduardo Paes, it had secured extra funding.

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“Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this,” said Craven.

It emerged last week that Rio 2016 organisers had failed to pay grants of up to $8m to allow countries to travel to the Games, bringing the funding crisis into the public arena.

The IPC said on Friday that 10 teams would still struggle to afford to come to the Games even when travel grants were paid.

A judge has now ruled that the organisers could accept $46.5m in public money to fill a hole in the budget but that will still not entirely bridge the gap. A second injunction preventing the mayor using state funds remains in place.

The bailout could also increase frustration with the Games, with public services under severe pressure. As a result cuts will include a reduction in the Rio 2016 workforce and cuts to media and transport facilities. The wheelchair fencing will move from the Youth Arena in Deodoro to the Olympic Park, allowing organisers to begin dismantling the common areas.

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“These cuts are on top of the ones we, together with the IOC, have already made in the last 12 months and are likely to impact nearly every stakeholder attending the Games,” said Craven.

“We are working desperately hard to protect athlete services, especially within the field of play. They have dedicated their lives to reaching these Games and we will do our utmost to try and maintain the service levels and scope that they expect at a Paralympic Games.”

A Rio 2016 spokesman said it still hoped to sell more than 2m of the 2.4m tickets available for the Paralympics but at present only 300,000, or 12%, have been sold.

“Our commitment to the IPC is a sold out Games and that is a commitment we are pursuing,” said the spokesman.

Craven acknowledged that the crowds were unlikely to be as big as in Beijing or London but hoped that ticket sales would pick up. He insisted he did not feel let down by the last-minute funding crisis as organisers concentrated on solving a raft of last-ditch issues with the Olympics.

“I don’t feel let down. But if we had more information sooner, we would have known where we were a lot sooner. If it was smoke and mirrors we’re moving from a point where there was smoke and a light haze, now we’re moving into the Rio spring,” said Craven. “We’ve not been let down and we’ve come to a point now where we’re confident we can deliver good Games. In my water I can feel we could be on the verge of a great Games.”