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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Olympics will become a tangible reality on Friday, when one of its so-called "Mega" souvenir shops opens on Copacabana Beach.
Bring plenty of cash, at least for anything more than a keychain that sells for 25 Brazilian reals ($8). A commemorative gold medal will sell for around $2,000.
Olympic merchandising is big business.
Rio's head of licensing and retail sales, Sylmara Multini, says organizers hope to sell merchandise worth about 1 billion Brazilian reals ($310 million).
The 19,300 square-foot layout on Copacabana is one of three huge stores. The largest will be a store in the Olympic Park.
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