67% of Rio tickets sold

Photo: The Canadian Press

Rio de Janeiro Olympics organizers say they have sold 67 per cent of available tickets.

Ticket director Donovan Ferretti gave the update on Friday as the tickets designs were also unveiled for the first time.

Ferretti says sales are going well, though others have characterized ticket sales for South America's first games as sluggish, with the country mired in its worst recession since the 1930s.

Ferretti says six million tickets are available, and four million have been sold. He said the number of tickets could eventually reach 6.6 million as venue seating is finalized.

Of the two million unsold tickets, about 800,000 are for football. Tickets for football will be among the easiest to sell in Brazil.