The dark rain clouds started appearing just hours before the show of the year.

So some of its performers, anxious that the show must go on, prayed.

It could be a dampener, military policeman Muhammed Izzat mused, if some stunts for the motorbike segment had to be scrapped. Its most impressive item, after all, was the one where 11 cops balanced on a single bike.

Backstage, 80 make-up artists from the Cosmoprof Academy were painting faces at record speed - eyes, lips and cheeks, all within three minutes.

Thanks to the heat, some performers ruined their make-up.

"Touch-ups give us the most headaches as it's so hot here," the academy's director, Ms Lily Leong, said.

Giant-sized fans, whirring away at the second storey of the Singapore Flyer carpark, provided some respite to some participants.

Several teens from Bukit Batok Secondary School, performing in the LED props segment, jostled for space. The key chink in their Ben-Hur armour regalia was the lack of circulation, said 13-year-old Melvin Pang.

To beat the boredom, out came PlayStation portable game machines. Some posed for final snapshots and many were too excited to nap - which they could during rehearsals.

It was only from 6pm - many had been there since 2pm - that the 5,000 participants were herded from the four holding areas for their final performance.

Their excitement visibly heightened as they waited.

The pre-parade segment drew to a close. And then the military portion.

Standing under the three-tiered stage, the performers made final adjustments to their costumes and stole a final look in the mirror. Some closed their eyes to calm themselves, others huddled to say that final prayer.

"Good luck...," one of them muttered under her breath. The cuemaster manning the stage entrance intoned: "Puppeteers stand by..."

The music swelled.

It was showtime.