Rio 2016 held their first Cultural Programme event of the Olympic year ©Rio 2016/Alex Ferro

Hundreds of Brazilians are attending a free culinary festival celebrating local food here this weekend in the first event of the year in the Rio 2016 Cultural Programme.

Organised by filmmaker Sérgio Bloch, the author of a popular guide to the street food of Rio, the two-day festival is aiming to celebrate local culture and bring the country together in the year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Popular Brazilian foods available for purchase include tapioca do arnaldo, a flavoured pancake made using flour from the cassava plant, and churrasquinho da Jô street barbecues were among those being sold along with drinks such as caipirinha.

Similar food should also be available in the Athletes' Village during the Games in order to offer a taste of the host nation.

Musicians, poetry recitals and other theatreand jazz groups were also performing at the event.

Olympic and Paralympic mascots Vinicius and Tom are due to be present during the weekend, while the Olympic Torch was on display.

“Our idea is to offer a varied cultural programme, which is accessible and in the streets, so that the people can participate," said Rio 2016 culture director Carla Camurati.

Musical performers at the Rio 2016 Food Festival ©ITG
Musical performers at the Rio 2016 Food Festival ©ITG

It comes as organisers continue to attempt to raise interest in the Games with less than four months until the Olympic Opening Ceremony on August 5 at the nearby Maracanã Stadium.

Tickets sales for both Games remain low - particularly for the Paralympics, where barely 20 per cent have reportedly been sold - with many locals distracted by the ongoing political and economic problems in the host country.

Rio 2016's budget has also been cut as a result of economic problems resulting in Brazil's worst recession in 25 years, which has limited their ability to pull off events like the Food Festival in recent months. 

Numbers attending the family-orientated event have been impressive, although, with the exception of some branding and the mascots and Torch, there was relatively little information about the Olympics and the sport for them to digest during their visit, and no opportunity to buy Rio 2016 merchandise.

It comes after Brazil's under-fire President Dilma Rousseff, who is facing impeachment proceedings later this month, urged the country to use the Olympics to "show what Brazil can do when it unites".