Prostitutes in Rio de Janeiro's red light district are offering a 'sex sale' for visitors to the Olympic Games - after hopes of a boom during Brazil's hosting of the World Cup two years ago flopped.

Sex workers in the city's notorious Vila Mimosa zone claim that, despite high expectations in the run-up to the football tournament, business during the event actually fell substantially.

Now, with a month to go before the games, they say they have prepared a flyer in English inviting Olympic athletes to the red light area, near Rio's city centre, offering cut price deals.

The seedy leaflet says 30 minutes of sex is 40 reals (£9) - down 48 per cent on the normal price of 75 reals (£17).

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Open for business: Sex workers in the city's famous Vila Mimosa red light district, including Gabriela Alves, 39, claim that, despite high expectations in the run-up to the World Cup, business during the event actually fell substantially

Touting: A flyer in English claims to be inviting Olympic athletes to the red light area, near Rio's city centre, offers 30 minutes of sex for 40 reals (£9) - down 48 per cent on the normal price of 75 reals (£17)

Poverty stricken: According to the flyer produced by Aline Docinha, above, an hour's sex will cost 60 reals (£13), down from 90 reals (£20), while a threesome is priced at 40 reals (£9) per girl for half an hour, and 80 reals (£18) for an hour

Dingy: Long-term sex worker Aline Docinha, 39, left, and Gabriela Alves, 39, told MailOnline that they came up with the initiative after realising that, just like the World Cup, business is likely to drop during the Olympic fortnight but this may be because few Westerners wish to venture into the down-at-heel district

RUNDOWN RED LIGHT DISTRICT WHERE TOURISTS FEAR TO TREAD Unlike the clean, well-presented streets of Rio's tourist zones like Copacabana, the Vila Mimosa district is a run-down, seedy block of sex dens, many of which lie off dark, dank alleyways. The area has a reputation for street crime and other illicit activities such as drug dealing, warnings of which from locals would put off all but the most adventurous sex tourists. A visit to the Vila means a six-mile journey from the safe hotel district, into an poorly-lit and unkempt area of the city centre which feels risky. The 'girls' take clients back to scruffy boudoirs at the back of the bars, consisting of just a concrete bed with plastic mattress and a bin. As we talked to Aline and Gabriela in one of the tiny rooms, the sound of other women with 'clients' echoed through the corridors. Aline and a group of call girls came up with the idea of the pamphlet, which they plan to display outside the brothels where they work to attract English-speaking customers. Advertisement

The Vila Mimosa is Rio's oldest and largest prostitution zone, where over 3,000 women offer their services in more than 70 bars and nightclubs situated around a bustling marketplace.

But the women's income has recently been hit by the grim economic climate in the Brazil, which is suffering its deepest recession in a century and leaving millions out of pocket.

Four weeks before the Olympics begin, some Mimosa sex workers have launched a desperate bid to lure foreign visitors.

A flyer printed in English is being distributed in Rio - but it is not known how widely.

It states that an hour's sex will cost 60 reals (£13), down from 90 reals (£20), while a threesome is priced at 40 reals (£9) per girl for half an hour, and 80 reals (£18) for an hour.

Long-term prostitute Aline Docinha, 39, told MailOnline that they do not want to see a repeat of the World Cup, when business actually dropped.

She said: 'We were all expecting so much from the World Cup, because everyone told us demand would be huge. We all thought we'd make a fortune.

'We put big TV screens in the road for the men to watch football, we put on barbeques, and Brazilian music parties.

Poverty: Aline, right, told MailOnline: 'We were all expecting so much from the World Cup, because everyone told us demand would be huge. We all thought we'd make a fortune. But hardly anyone turned up'

Ruin: Gabriela Alves, 39, who has also worked in the zone for 12 years, says many of the women are facing ruin because of falling business and are desperate to bring in foreigners during the Olympics

'But hardly anyone turned up. During the World Cup the road was virtually empty. I think the foreigners were scared to come to a place like this, which isn't close to the beaches or hotels. And they were probably afraid of catching something too.

'There were a few Argentinians and Uruguayans, but they didn't have much money and tried to bargain right down. Even our regular Brazilian clients didn't show up, they were too interested in watching the football.

'But this time around we're under no illusions. We know we'll be forgotten during the Olympics, just like we were during the World Cup.

That's why we're being proactive. We just want to make enough to pay our bills.'

Aline, who has worked in the red light district for 12 years, claims that before Brazil's economic crisis she would manage six to eight clients a day, but today she is lucky to find even one during her 12-hour shift.

She added: 'Even then, they try to bargain the price down. There are days that I go home without having made a single centavo. Many Brazilians who used to come here don't have money to spend anymore.'

She described the Vila Mimosa district as a 'supermarket of sex' and encouraged foreigners staying in Rio for the Olympics, expected to number half a million, to try it out.

Forgotten: The district of Vila Mimosa, pictured above, is described as a 'supermarket of sex' but is a desperately poor area in need of renovation

Custom: The zone's busiest area is a 2500-square-metre covered arcade, divided into small bars where prostitutes tout for customers. Male prostitutes and transvestites are banned from the district, to preserve Mimosa's tradition as a place for exclusively heterosexual prostitution

She said: 'There are women here for every taste, black, white, chubby, mature, whatever you like. You can walk around and take your time until you find the one you like the most.

'And just like any supermarket, we've now got some great deals and we're cutting our prices. There's no other place in Rio like it. Take a bit of time while you're here to come here.'

The Vila Mimosa is less than a mile from the Maracana football stadium where the Olympics opening ceremony is to take place on August 5.

The district dates back to the 1920s, when Eastern European women fleeing World War I, settled in the area. Poor and without their husbands, they turned to prostitution to make a leaving.

The zone's busiest area is a 2500-square-metre covered arcade, divided into small bars where prostitutes tout for customers. Male prostitutes and transvestites are banned from the district, to preserve Mimosa's tradition as a place for exclusively heterosexual prostitution.

While prostitution is legal in Brazil, owning a brothel is not and each establishment is officially licensed as a legitimate business such as a bar or snooker club.

Gabriela Alves, 39, who has also worked in the zone for 12 years, says many of the women are facing ruin because of falling business and are desperate to bring in foreigners during the Olympics.

Ready? Security fencing around the perimeter the Olympic Park in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, last week as the nation prepares to host the games

Unprepared: Dirt piles and concrete next to the Olympic Hockey Stands in the Deodoro area of Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where there are now concerns the city may not be ready

Key preparations: Workers build a viewing platform along Copacobana Beach in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where the games start in just five weeks

Gabriela, who has a 22-year-old daughter and two young granddaughters, and who is doing a degree in human resources, said she needs to earn 250 reals (£58) a day to pay all her bills - but since last year when the recession started to bite she often earns only half that figure.

She said: 'One of my granddaughters has special needs and my 89-year-old mother also lives with me. My family depends on my income, even though they don't like what I do.

'Last week I was desperate, they were about to cut my telephone, TV and electricity and I didn't have any more money to buy gas. Then at the last minute a guy came over and paid for five 'programmes', and I managed to pay all my bills.

'Afterwards I knelt down and thanked Jesus for saving me.

'It's never been this bad and most of the women here are desperate. But few of us think anything will come of the Olympics. We're all worried that business will grind to a halt like it did during the World Cup.'

Gabriela said the financial crisis in Brazil has meant the number of women trying to make a living from sex at the Vila Mimosa has increased in recent months.

She said: 'The clientele has decreased and competition's increased.

These new girls will do anything, even do it without a condom if the client demands it so they don't lose their money. I would never do that.

Just last week I said no to a guy who wanted unprotected sex, and a few minutes later he found a girl who would.

'I only work in the mornings, because it's safer and less tiring. I know women who work all night, standing outside the bar on high heels trying to attract customers, and they go home in the morning having done just one programme during the whole night, and probably at a knock-down price.'

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Water way to go: Kayaking and canoe events will be held in the whitewater stadium and although the water is running, the seats are not ready

Men at work: The beach volleyball venue in Copacabana should be one of the most redolent scenes of Rio de Janiero, but is simply a building site with only a few days to go

Gabriela still hopes to leave the life of prostitution once she has finished her university course and is able to find a different job.

Aline, who has three grown-up children, calls herself a 'career prostitute' who has even given seminars on the subject, but she is also hoping to take a step up the ladder of the industry.

She said: 'I'm doing an English course. I can speak enough already for the tourists, but I want to work as a high-class escort and tourist guide for tourists. I've got eight months left until I graduate, then hopefully I can leave this place and earn money more easily.'

And she said most of the women working in Vila Mimosa have agreed to cut the price of their services during the Olympics, if it means the 'sale'

will attract more clients during the two-week event.

She said: 'We all know that things are really bad and we're willing to accept any offer. I'd even do it for free if a famous athlete were to come here and give us some publicity. Let's hope Usain Bolt finds out about us and gives the place a try, that would really give us a boost.