Friday's opening ceremony for the Rio Olympic Games will be the "coolest party" the parading athletes have ever attended, organisers have promised.
They said the budget cuts forced upon them by the economic situation in the country, which mean the cost of the ceremony will be considerably less than the £27million that was spent on the Danny Boyle-directed opening ceremony at London 2012, has not detracted from the spectacle.
"Athens was classical, Beijing was grandiose, London was smart - ours is going to be cool," said creative director Fernando Meirelles, the award-winning director behind the films City of God and the Constant Gardener.
Executive producer Marco Balich said: "I would call on all the athletes to join what is going to be the coolest party they have participated in."
The ceremony, which is being staged at the famed Maracana football stadium, will feature 5,000 volunteers, 500 musicians and 200 professional dancers and be a celebration of Brazil.
The only non-Brazilian performer involved will be Dame Judi Dench, who will read a poem in a pre-recorded segment.
"She was very kind, she is a volunteer, she didn't charge us anything," said Meirelles.
The Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro will read the same poem, the name of which organisers declined to reveal, in Portuguese.
Organisers did not reveal the exact cost of the event, saying only they worked with a "much lower budget than any of the recent ceremonies", with Brazil deep in recession.
"The message that should be taken home from the ceremony is the importance of tolerance."
Daniela Thomas, another of the creative directors, said: "This is not a sacrifice. MacGyvering is pure creativity."
But she added that the precedent set by previous shows was daunting.
"To have Beijing behind us and London and Athens is very scary. We studied the ceremonies, we cried with fear," she said.
The show will be based on three pillars: the garden - the importance of looking after the planet - diversity and joy.
The athletes at the ceremony will all be given a tube of soil and a seedling, which will be planted in Brazil after the Games.
Meirelles said: "The message that should be taken home from the ceremony is the importance of tolerance.
"The world is very tense, the political situation here is tense, in the US with (Donald) Trump, the UK with Brexit. This is shown in the ceremony and the solution that comes through tolerance.
"Also, we need to stop attacking our home. The whole planet is under threat, the human race is under threat. There is a strong aspect on this."
The arrival of the Olympic torch in Rio on Wednesday was marred by mass demonstrations at the cost of the Games, but organisers said they had not given thought to any form of protest during the ceremony.
They said three sections of 92 seats each would be given over to dignitaries, but did not say how many were expected to attend.
Brazilian super model Gisele Bundchen will take part in the ceremony, but organisers emphatically denied reports she was involved in a scene involving a mugging.
