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The opening of the Rio Olympics is threatening to descend into chaos with huge demos planned by thousands of disgruntled Brazilians.

As the eyes of the world turn on the city of Rio de Janeiro tomorrow, around 15,000 people are expected to take part in a mass protest at the huge costs of staging the Games.

Ordinary workers are furious over missed salary payments and the £1.3billion bill for staging the Games, rising to £5billion for infrastructure projects at a time of economic instability.

A group calling themselves ‘Olympic Games Exclusion’ plan two demos tomorrow – one on the world famous Copacabana beach and another at the Maracana stadium, the venue for the opening ceremony.

(Image: Getty)

Group member Giselle Tanaka said: “We are not against the Games and socialising.

“We are against the big business, and the fact the city gave priority to large economic groups.”

Previous demos on the torch route have seen police use tear gas on protestors.

The recent down turn has seen street crime and violence rise in the favela of the city – with dozens of police officers murdered in the line of duty.

(Image: Reuters)

The mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, carried the Olympic torch on its first few laps through the city centre as it arrived after a three-month long tour of the country.

But even he was jeered and there were chaotic scenes in the north of Rio as the torch relay was met by hundreds of protestors.

Riot police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

One policeman appearing to fire a projectile directly at a protester.

(Image: Getty Images)

Crowds of onlookers - including many families with children who had come out to watch the torch relay – were forced to flee in fear.

There are also concerns about the opening ceremony itself.

Organisers admit last-minute changes have had to be made due to budget cuts and a scene involving the supermodel Gisele Bundchen being ‘mugged’ has also been cut.

One volunteer claimed even final preparations for the ceremony were marred by ‘no one knowing what they are supposed to be doing’.

(Image: Getty)

He said: “I was supposed to be a flag-bearer for one of the smaller nations.

“But they keep on changing their minds about what I am supposed to be doing.

“I could not get my accreditation sorted as I speak English and all the messages which from the organisers were in Portugese went straight into my spam.

“I have been here a month but still do not know what my role will be.

“It is all over the place.”

The ceremony is due to start at midnight UK time, and finish at around 4am.

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One million tickets for the Rio Olympics remain unsold – despite a late sales push.

Around five million of the 6.1 m tickets available have been purchased. But the disappointing sales come despite a push to off load as many tickets as possible in the two weeks before the event.

Seats for both opening and closing ceremonies, swimming and tennis sessions, and medal events in football, volleyball and basketball were made available.

The demand for tickets is far less than for London 2012, with five times fewer applications for tickets.

(Image: Barcroft)

In the first ballot open to Brazilians, 4.4m asked for tickets.

At the same stage, more than 20m applications had been received for London.

A lack of interest in some of the sports involved – and the poverty of the population – was blamed for the slow take up in Brazil.

Olympic ticket prices range from 40 Brazilian Reais (£8.35) for some events to up to 4,600 (£953) Reais for the opening ceremony. Some sites outside the country are offering tickets for the day of the men’s 100 metres final for £457.

The Games will kick off tomorrow with an opening ceremony broadcast on BBC One from 11.40pm.