Red carpet rolled out ahead of 75th Cannes Film Festival as A-listers arrive

Cannes Film Festival

Preparations are now well-underway just hours ahead of the 75th Cannes Film Festival opening, as the red carpet was seen being rolled out while celebrities have begun arriving at the resort town.

Workers were hard at work installing the red carpet today on the grand staircase outside Festival Palace, or Palais des Festivals, which is set to host the opening ceremony of the prestigious film festival on Tuesday night.

The last touches were made and the huge poster for the Cannes Film Festival’s golden jubilee, which this year features an image from The Truman Show, was unfurled by workers.

Preparations were well-underway just hours ahead of the 75th Cannes Film Festival opening on Tuesday morning as the red carpet was seen being rolled out while celebrities have begun arriving at the resort town”

Getting ready: Preparations were well-underway just hours ahead of the 75th Cannes Film Festival opening on Tuesday morning as the red carpet was seen being rolled out while celebrities have begun arriving at the resort town

And celebrities including Eva Longoria have begun arriving at the resort town ahead of the two-week annual event, which will see hotly-anticipated films Top Gun: Maverick and King of Rock ‘N Roll’ biopic ‘Elvis’ shown.

Eva was seen standing on a balcony at the Martinez Hotel on the eve of the 75th annual Cannes film festival as she expressed her excitement at attending the event.

The actress, 47, went braless in a figure-hugging silver dress which gathered at the front to create a unique texture.

The garment featured a turtle neck and was sleeveless, leaving her arms and shoulders exposed to the warm evening air.

Getting ready: Celebrities including Eva Longoria have begun arriving at the resort town ahead of the two-week annual event. On Monday, Eva was seen standing on a balcony at the Martinez Hotel

She completed her look with a pair of strappy silver heels to add a few inches to her stature.

Eva accessorised with a pair of silver hoop earrings, with the jewellery visible under her wet hair.

Taking to her Instagram Stories, the star posed for a picture on the balcony, catching the golden light as the sun set.

Eva captioned her post: ‘Hello my sweet Cannes.’

On Tuesday, Tyson Fury was seen posing for photographs with eager fans just hours ahead of the opening ceremony, while model Matilda Lutz was seen stepping out of the Martinez Hotel.

BEFORE: After Cannes was entirely cancelled in 2020 (pictured without red carpet) and held under strict health protocols in 2021, the red carpet is set to return in all its glamour on Tuesday night

AFTER: One of the first stars to walk the red carpet will be Forest Whitaker – the Oscar-winning star of ‘The Last King of Scotland’ – who is picking up the honorary Palme d’Or award at the opening ceremony

Last year: The Cannes Film Festival in 2021 (pictured) was heavily affected by Covid-19 and led to a more scaled-back event

Arrival: Forest (pictured at Nice Airport on Monday), 60, won an acting award at the festival back in 1988 for his role as jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s Bird

After Cannes was entirely cancelled in 2020 and held under strict health protocols in 2021, the red carpet is set to return in all its glamour on Tuesday night.

One of the first stars to walk the red carpet will be Forest Whitaker – the Oscar-winning star of ‘The Last King of Scotland’ – who is picking up the honorary Palme d’Or award at the opening ceremony.

Forest, 60, won an acting award at the festival back in 1988 for his role as jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s Bird.

There will also be an array of TikTok stars taking to the red carpet this year after organisers have sought to refresh their image by partnering with the video streaming platform, which is sponsoring an award for short films.

Stars: On Tuesday, Tyson Fury was seen posing for photographs with eager fans just hours ahead of the opening ceremony, while model Matilda Lutz was seen stepping out of the Martinez Hotel

And the film chosen to open the festival will be Final Cut, a comedy love letter to filmmaking and Z-list zombie movies from the team behind the award-winning The Artist.

Its director Michel Hazanavicius said it was ‘a joyous celebration of film people, which I hope will encourage others to get involved’.

On Wednesday, Hollywood star Tom Cruise will arrive at the film festival for the first time in 30 years as his much-delayed blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick gets its European premiere.

The sequel, long delayed by the pandemic, has been getting warm reviews from critics and gives Cannes a chance to honour Tom, described by festival director Thierry Fremaux as ‘someone who is devoted to cinema’.

A host of British stars including Letitia Wright, Joe Alwyn, Idris Elba, Tilda Swinton are also expected to attend this year’s festivities.

Cleaning: Workers were seen using vacuums to hoover the red carpet to make sure it was in top condition before the opening ceremony

Model Matilda Lutz looked effortlessly chic in a cropped white shirt and straight leg black jeans as she stepped out of the Martinez Hotel on Tuesday” class=”blkBorder img-share”. Looking good: She completed her ensemble with white strapped heeled sandals and a white handbag with a pearl strap”.

In total, some 35,000 film professionals are expected to attend the festival between May 17 and 28, hoping for a return to form for cinema’s most glamorous event after two years when it was hampered by Covid-19 restrictions.

‘We are ready. The town hall has just redone everything – the whole place – so we hope it will go well,’ said Jeremie Tripet, manager of ‘L’Avenue’, a bistro just off the main drag known as La Croisette.

One major exception is the absence of Russians, due to the impact of sanctions over the war in Ukraine and a ruling from the organisers that state-linked delegates are not welcome. China is also expected to have a limited presence due to its continuing Covid restrictions.

But otherwise the festival is keen to put the pandemic in the past, with no mandatory masks or health passes this year – and no restrictions to partying.

The last touches were made and the huge poster for the Cannes Film Festival’s golden jubilee was unfurled by workers”.

Film fans can get stuck into the usual feast of new releases and competition entries, braving the festival’s famously opinionated crowds, who are never shy about cheering and booing during screenings.

There’s a lot of excitement around the Elvis Presley biopic from Australia’s Baz Luhrmann, hoping to recreate the buzz he generated when he brought the can-can to Cannes with ‘Moulin Rouge!’ 20 years ago.

Elvis, playing out of competition, sees newcomer Austin Butler stepping into The King’s blue suede shoes. Tom Hanks plays his infamous manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

There are 21 films in the race for the Palme d’Or, including the latest body-horror fable from David Cronenberg, Crimes of the Future, starring Lea Seydoux and Kristen Stewart.

The Canadian director told MarkMeets it is likely to cause walkouts ‘within the first five minutes’.

There are only five women directors in the competition, hoping to follow the success of last year’s winner, Titane, which made Julia Ducournau only the second female to win the Palme.

Alongside all the glitz, festival director Thierry Fremaux said Cannes aimed to keep the war in Ukraine in the spotlight.

Looking good: Workers were hard at work installing the red carpet on the grand staircase outside Festival Palace, or Palais des Festivals, which is set to host the opening ceremony of the prestigious film festival on Tuesday night

‘Together we will have a great festival – we will think a lot about cinema without ever stopping thinking about Ukraine.’

The final film by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who was killed by Russian forces in Ukraine last month, will get a special screening.

He was shooting a follow-up to his celebrated documentary Mariupolis, about the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region, when he was reportedly captured and killed.

The main competition also includes exiled Russian Kirill Serebrennikov, who was unable to attend for his two previous nominations due to a politically charged conviction for embezzlement back home.

Fremaux said the festival wanted to lend a hand to ‘the Russians who take risks to resist’ while offering ‘absolute and non-negotiable support to the Ukrainian people’.

The jury charged with selecting the winners this year includes Indian superstar Deepika Padukone and Iran’s two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi, and is headed by French actor Vincent Lindon.