Rio de Janeiro: As the world watched the Rio Olympics opening ceremony taking place at Maracana Stadium on Friday night, a man was shot dead about 800 metres away.

His body was found with bullet wounds after 9pm. The man has not yet been identified but local news outlets reported the Brazilian had committed robberies in the area and was killed when one of his victims reacted.

A man was found dead outside Rio's state university (yellow) near Maracana Stadium, the site of the Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony. Credit:Google Maps

He was found outside the gates of the Rio State University on Rua Sao Francisco Xavier, not far from the stadium where approximately 75,000 people watched Brazil put on its biggest ever show.

Police also cordoned off a large area around the beach volleyball arena in Copacabana, while ceremony was being staged. Half an hour later a member of the bomb disposal team was seen examining the packages with the cordon still in place.