Budapest 2024 have come out fighting following the latest attempt to derail their Olympic and Paralympic bid, by claiming a 12 per cent boost in support over the last six months.

The claim comes after Hungarian youth organisation Momentum Mozgalom vowed to start collecting signatures demanding a referendum be held over whether to press ahead with the bid.

A total of 138,000 signatures within 30 days would be enough for such a ballot to take place.

The group claim funding would be better spent on education, healthcare, housing, living standards and transport.

This has been rejected by the Bid Committee, however, who say hosting the Games would boost the economy and that they enjoy particularly high levels of support from young people.

According to a new nationwide public opinion poll performed by Kód Kft in December, a "significant double digit increase was recorded from 51 per cent to 63 per cent among the adult population of Hungary".

Seventy-one per cent of young people aged between the age of 18 and 29 years supported the bid, it is claimed.

"We are delighted to learn that support for the Olympic Games in Budapest is continuing to grow as more cities and communities across Hungary are backing the bid," said Budapest's bid leader, Balázs Furjes.

"As a nation, sport has always been a central feature of Hungarian culture and society, and this is reflected in public support to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"Hungary expresses itself through sport, and the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is the world’s most important sporting event.

"Budapest’s public venues and supporting infrastructure and services have been planned and developed around sport and major events and Hungary’s love of sport."

Balázs Furjes, right, has welcomed the new survey supposedly showing rising support ©Getty Images

It is claimed that 95 per cent of the population has "heard" about the bid.

Three quarters share the opinion that Budapest has the "capability and commitment to deliver the Olympic Games".

However, a lower total of 54 per cent is optimistic that Budapest will win.

Two thirds of those polled think that the hosting of the event "would affect the labour market in a positive way and that development and investments could be implemented in Hungary".

Only 34 per cent think the event would be "too large bite" for the country - which has never hosted the Games before - from an economic point of view.

Budapest is locked in a three-horse race with Los Angeles and Paris for the 2024 Games.

A bid spokesman has also told insidethegames how they are confident there will be "no obstacles" with regard to the bid, even if there is a referendum.

In reality, the biggest challenge for the Hungarian capital appears to be more in the global domain, where their lobbying effort among voting International Olympic Committee (IOC) members is currently struggling to match their two rivals.

A final decision in the contest is expected to be made on September 13 at the IOC Session in Lima.