Rio 2016 releases Olympic event schedule

Rio de Janerio, March 25 (IANS)

The Rio 2016 Olympic organising committee on Tuesday released its daily competition schedule as the countdown to the Games hit the 500-day mark. The Games will officially begin on August 5 when the Maracana stadium hosts the opening ceremony, reported Xinhua.

The competitions will start two days earlier with the men's and women's football matches, to be played in six cities. The match schedules for the tournaments are yet to be announced.

The day following the opening ceremony will feature competition in 20 disciplines. As per Olympic tradition, swimming events will be held in the first week while athletics will mostly be staged in the second.

Organisers said the full competition schedule will be published on March 31, coinciding with the start of ticket sales for Brazilian residents.

Meanwhile, Rio 2016 released its first batch of commemorative stamps on Tuesday as a part of the 500 day milestone. An additional two installments will be made available by December.

The overall collection will feature 31 designs depicting athletes against a backdrop of Rio's iconic attractions.

"The stamps are part of the history of the Games and help construct the memory of the biggest sporting event on the planet," said Sylmara Multini, Rio 2016's licensing director.

"We are very proud of the first batch in the series - our stamps our joyful and modern, like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - and how the Games will be. We hope that our stamps will take a little of the Games spirit to the public, along with the coins and pins."