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OFFICIAL MEMORABILIA AUCTIONFans looking for an extra special memento of the Olympic Games Rio 2016 were given the opportunity to bid on thousands of items of competition-used equipment and other unique Games artefacts through the Official Memorabilia Auction, which ran online from August to December 2016.The highly collectable items included torches used in the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay, memorabilia from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and sporting equipment from the events.IOC LICENSING PROGRAMME Alongside the Rio 2016 Licensing Programme, the IOC managed its own licensing programme for the Games, which included global initiatives such as the hugely popular official video game, ‘Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games’. The game was launched for the Nintendo 3DS in February 2016, while the Nintendo Wii U version was released in June 2016. Following the approval of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC has also developed a global licensing programme that operates during and in-between each edition of the Games. This global licensing strategy consists of three programmes: an Olympic Heritage collection, focused on merchandise related to past Games; an Olympic Games collection, featuring products linked to future editions of the Games; and an Olympic collection, which aims to communicate the essence of the Olympic brand. For Rio 2016, a Heritage Collection featuring T-shirts, hats, key-chains and mugs was produced for sale in the Olympic Megastore during the Games. 116 LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING