Greek PM cheered on arrival at pro-'No' rally

Athens

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was cheered wildly as he arrived today at a pro-'No' rally in Athens, two days before a crucial bailout referendum.

Tsipras was collected from the PM's office by a crowd of supporters who swept him along the street to the city's Syntagma square, where he was expected to address a 25,000 strong rally of people who want Greece to reject international creditors' demands for austerity. 

But many Greeks are jumping into the 'Yes' camp because of that fear and because of a heightened sense of crisis brought on by capital controls this week that limit their daily ATM withdrawals to just 60 euros ($67).

Adding to that, a eurozone emergency fund officially declared Greece to be in default on Friday for not paying a 1.5-billion loan instalment to the International Monetary Fund loan earlier this week. 

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Greece's single biggest creditor, said however it was not yet demanding immediate repayment of its loans worth 145 billion euros ($160 billion).

The two latest polls on the referendum showed voter intentions were now effectively tied -- a change from earlier published surveys that had indicated strong support for the government's 'No'.