Cloudy with a chance of irritating drizzle is the forecast for this year’s Oscars, as organisers seek to insulate the stars and cameras from the worst of the weather.

The red carpet outside the Dolby Theatre – on which nominees are encouraged to loiter as they chat to news crews and pose for photos – has been covered in a thick plastic sheet, and the whole area has been cased in transparent tenting.

While the guests will be protected from any downpour – currently assessed as 70% likely by forecasters – fans on the bleachers will have to make their own arrangements.

Oscar statues have also been swaddled in protective plastic, though they may be disrobed closer to the event itself.

Three days ago, a model of an Oscars statuette on all fours, snorting cocaine, was removed from Hollywood Boulevard. It was the work of the art group Plastic Jesus, who constructed a similar statue last year in which the figure was seen apparently shooting up with heroin. In the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s drug-related death earlier that month, the installation provoked some anger.

Security is also said to be at its tightest in many years at the Academy Awards, with organisers concerned about the recent shootings in Europe, as well as the continuing fallout from the Sony hack. The incident at the end of last year led to thousands of embarrassing internal emails being leaked, as well as threats by a group calling itself Guardians of the Peace to bomb any US cinemas which screened North Korean-baiting comedy The Interview.

That film has not been nominated for any of tonight’s awards, although it is expected to feature in new host Neil Patrick Harris’s monologue.