In only 499 days on August 5 next year the first ever Games in South America will officially get underway with the Opening Ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium in the Brazilian city, although the football tournament will start two days earlier.

The competition is then due to begin on August 6 with events in archery, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling road race, equestrian eventing, fencing, artistic gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, rowing, rugby, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, water polo and weightlifting taking place.

All 28 sports will hold their competitions over the following days before the Olympics draw to a close with the Closing Ceremony on August 21.

The full competition schedule with specific session times will be published on March 31, when ticket sales open for Brazilian residents.

"We have produced a schedule that is well balanced and offers the public a wide variety of sports and medal events from the start to the finish of the Games," Agberto Guimarães, the 1983 Pan American Games 800 and 1500 metres gold medallist, who is now Rio 2016's executive director of sport, said. 

Rio 2016 claim that there is growing excitement in the city about next year's Olympics
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Of special interest, are the schedules for golf and rugby sevens, the two sports added to the programme for Rio 2016.

Golf is due to take place between August 11 and 14 and then August 16 to 20. 

Rio 2016 is now calling on fans to join in the celebrations to mark the 500 days to go milestone on social media using the hashtags #RioOlympicDNA, #500days and #nowitshere, and a new 500-days-to-go page has been launched on the Rio 2016 website.