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Tickets Go on Sale for 2016 Rio Olympics


A worker carries a equipment as he walks past the aquatic stadium under construction at the Olympic Park of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 23, 2015.
A worker carries a equipment as he walks past the aquatic stadium under construction at the Olympic Park of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 23, 2015.

Tickets for the 2016 Rio Olympics went on sale Tuesday in Brazil, with top prices comparable to those at the London Games and more than half costing 70 Brazilian reais ($22) or less.

The most affordable of the 7.5 million tickets are 40 reais ($12.50), and all purchases can be paid for in up to five installments. The cheapest tickets at London 2012 were 20 pounds, at the time about $32.

The most expensive tickets in Rio — for the basketball, beach volleyball and volleyball finals — are priced at 1,200 reais, far above Brazil's minimum monthly wage of 788.

Tickets for the popular opening ceremony will cost up to 4,600 reais.

The announcement came as many Brazilians struggle to keep their heads above water amid a deepening economic crisis. The economy grew 0.1 percent last year and is expected to shrink in 2015 as corruption scandals hit investment.

The Olympics competition schedule was also released Tuesday, with eight finals on the last day, Aug. 21.

The men's football tournament is the first sport to kick off. Play will begin Aug. 3, two days before the opening ceremony.

Tickets for the seven soccer matches scheduled for Sao Paulo have been held back because of an impasse over who will foot the bill for the renovations at the Corinthians arena.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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