Cannes film festival 2009: final preparations

13 May 2009: The red carpet is in place at the Palais des Festivals, ready for the opening gala of the 62nd Cannes film festival tonight Photograph: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images

People walk past a giant advertising board for Pixar's Up, which will open the 62nd Cannes film festival tonight. It is the first animated film to open the festival in its history, and guests will be issued special 3D glasses to watch it Photograph: Regis Duvignau/Reuters

A Chopard representative holds this year's Palme d'Or – 20 directors are in competition for the Cannes film festival's top prize, including Ken Loach, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar and Ang Lee Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Actor Isabelle Huppert is presiding over the jury of the 62nd Cannes film festival which will decide the winner of the Palme d'Or. With a lineup heavy in past winners and festival favourites, she's got her job cut out for her Photograph: Regis Duvignau/Reuters

The team behind this year's Cannes opener, Pixar's 3D animated feature Up: (from left) co-director Bob Peterson, producer Jonas Rivera, director Pete Docter and executive producer John Lasseter Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

Fans sit on stepladders in front of the Palais to claim the best spots to watch the stars arrive for the opening of the 62nd Cannes film festival Photograph: Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images

A Cannes film festival worker places numbers to mark photographers' positions on the red carpet outside the Palais des Festivals, ahead of the start of the festival Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Film fans and journalists queue in front of the Palais in a bid for admission to the screenings at the 62nd Cannes film festival Photograph: Eric Gaillard/Reuters

Luxury yachts are moored in the port of Cannes before the start of the 62nd Cannes film festival. There had been fears that the global economic downturn would have a severe impact on the festival, with champagne being replaced with sparkling wine and gala bashes called off Photograph: Eric Gaillard/Reuters