CANNES: The Cannes film festival is to open officially to red-carpet glory on Wednesday, but already this Riviera resort is bustling as final preparations are made to host the global invasion of stars and celluloid.

All along the palm-lined beachfront, tourists in shorts were being elbowed aside by sweaty workers frantic to set up billboards, stalls and the other fixtures that for 10 days will turn this town into a glitzy orgy of movie promotion, parties and screenings.