RIO DE JANEIRO, June 20 -- Tickets for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games have gone on sale at local shops for the first time, organizers said on Monday.

Tickets, previously only available to Brazilian residents online, are now on sale at two shopping mall outlets in Rio.

At least 30 new ticketing centers will be opened in the coming weeks in Rio and the Olympic football host cities of Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasilia and Manaus.

"We are expecting a large mass of people in the ticket office. It is the profile of Brazilians to buy in last minute," Rio 2016 ticketing director Donovan Ferreti said.

"But it is important to say that the price on the website is exactly the same as in the ticket office, you don't need to wait to come to the ticket office to purchase your ticket."

Ferreti said 4.2 million tickets had already been sold for the Games, around 70% of the total available. Another 1.8 million tickets were still available, he added.

Ticket prices range from about 12 US dollars to several hundred dollars for the most sought-after events.

The Rio 2016 Games - the first Olympics in South America - will be staged from August 5 to 21.