Rio 2016 organisers admit they cannot afford to indulge in the luxury of leaving preparations for the Olympics and Paralympics to the last minute.

Two years before the Games, which start on August 5 2016, Rio 2016 communications director Mario Andrada said the preparations are now back on schedule after numerous delays.

Senior IOC figures have declared Rio as further behind than even Athens was at a similar stage before the 2016 Olympics but Andrada says there has been a well-timed wake-up call earlier this year.

He also said Brazil’s reputation for leaving things to the last minute was perhaps deserved — it certainly happened with the football World Cup — but that attitude could not be allowed for the Olympics.

Asked about that reputation, Andrada said: “That is a fairly correct, confirmed and historic way of doing so that somehow amazingly enough we are proud of.

“But the work we do impacts on a lot of people. Sponsors have invested money in us and need to activate their brands — they cannot wait until a week before the Games open.

“You cannot change from treating 12 per cent of the sewage in Guanabara Bay sailing venue to 80 per cent in the last two weeks.

“Although we would love to do everything in the last minute we cannot afford this luxury.”

Andrada said Rio had reacted to a number of criticisms and expressions of concerns which came from the IOC and Sport Accord meetings in Belek, Turkey, in April.

Afterwards IOC president Thomas Bach stressed the need for speed, while other IOC members and federations warned even more urgently about the delays.

Andrada said that had acted as a wake-up call, especially for the three tiers of government involved in Rio — the city, the state and the federal governments.

He added: “Now we can say thank God it took place at that time, prior to the World Cup. “It was the alert that the government needed, it was the crack of the whip that was putting Brazil in an alert position and drove us to an incredible amount of progress in the last couple of months.

“It will allow us to face the two-year milestone looking to the world and saying we have no problems here, we are on track, on time.”

Construction finally started last month on the Deodoro sports complex where 11 Olympic sports — including equestrian, shooting, and rugby sevens will take place — after lengthy delays. 

At the main Olympic Park in Barra, home of track cycling and swimming, construction work has now been extended to 24 hours a day.