More than 220,000 Rio 2016 tickets sold

Rio 2016 Olympic mascot Vinicius greets the audience during the inauguration of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Tennis Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec 12, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

RIO DE JANEIRO - More than 220,000 Olympic Games tickets were secured during the first two days of the last major sales phase for Brazilian residents, Rio 2016 organizers said on Sunday.

The most sought after tickets were for athletics, swimming, football, handball, the opening and closing ceremonies, basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, judo and gymnastics.

"About 500,000 tickets became available and the demand was intense, with peaks of more than 3,000 transactions per minute," organizers said in a statement.

Locals can buy tickets from the Rio 2016 tickets website, while non-Brazilian residents can make purchases via authorized ticket resellers in their regions.

More tickets are expected to be become available to Brazilian residents through the ticket resale program launched in October.