It comes as a survey in leading financial magazine HVG revealed 68 per cent of respondents were not in favour of the bid.

Hungarian youth organisation Momentum Mozgalom, who are behind the petition as part of a campaign entitled “NOlimpia", require 138,000 signatures for a vote on the Hungarian capital’s candidature in a race which also includes Los Angeles and Paris.

However, Gergő Papp, a spokesperson for the movement, told Hungary Today that they were hoping for a further 60,000 people to sign the petition before the February 18 deadline.

He claimed they were worried some of the signatures received so far are invalid and that around 10 to 15 per cent may have come from people outside of Budapest.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had refused to comment on the referendum initiative last week and said he would not do so until the deadline had passed.

But Orbán did stress that the cabinet would accept “a decision made in a form acceptable to the public”.

Fears over a potential referendum on their candidacy prompted Budapest 2024 to postpone their international promotion campaign last month.

Budapest 2024 submitted their third candidature file to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) along with Los Angeles and Paris by the February 3 deadline.

Cities bidding for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics are not permitted to promote themselves internationally before February 3.

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

Budapest 2024 dispute this suggestion, insisting 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".

A total of 71 per cent of young people aged between the age of 18 and 29 years supported the bid, it is claimed.

But the poll in HVG said the level of support was as low as 26 per cent and that 60 per cent of respondents were in favour of a referendum being held.

insidethegames has contacted Budapest 2024 for comment.

The IOC is due to elect its chosen host city at the Session in Lima on September 13.