Giant billboards greet players and fans arriving at Cairo's main stadium for the African Cup of Nations, which kicks off on Friday.

"Egypt bids Africa's football warriors welcome," says one sign outside the venue in Heliopolis, a Cairo suburb.

"Sixteen nations - one cup," reads another.

The message is clear: a spruced up Cairo is ready to host this year's championship.

An all-star cast is taking part in the pan-African tournament, with Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco and Senegal among the favourites to win.

As with most tournaments, this one of course has its own theme song.

Tight security

But away from the preparations and the publicity, the organisers have some more pressing concerns.

Security is extremely tight. Although there is no specific threat, this is an age of terror.

With thousands of people descending on the country, Egypt is trying at least to play it safe.

But the primary concern of tournament organiser Viken Djizmedjian, is more prosaic.

He just hopes that his team does well and that the crowds will bother to turn out.

"For us as organisers and as Egyptians, we hope that the Egyptian team goes straight to the final and wins the cup," Mr Djizmedjian said.

"We can have a very good organisation, but if the Egyptian [team] is not there, we all know that the stadiums are not going to be full. It won't look good."

"We want this to be a big feast, we want all the stadiums full and we want the Egyptian team to succeed and win the cup," he added.

Inside the stadium earlier this week, carpenters and electricians were engaged in hasty last-minute preparations.

Chance for Egypt

For many Egyptians, this tournament will be a chance to try and put behind it some recent disappointments

Egypt's national football team has been performing poorly and the country failed to win any support at all in its bid to host the 2010 World Cup.

So the Nations Cup is a chance for Egypt to show the world that it can not only host, but also win a major football tournament.

Walk down the back streets of downtown Cairo and it won't take long to find a group of children kicking a ball about on a patch of dusty ground.

As with so much of Africa, football is a game that is played, talked about and dreamed of.

"I love football, I play with my friends, it's everything to me and God willing one day, I'll play for a good club," said one young man in Cairo.

"We'll all support Egypt in the African Cup and God willing, they will win," his friend added.

At the recent final dress rehearsal for the Nations Cup opening ceremony, some 1,000 actors scurried across the national stadium pitch late at night to the sound of an orchestra.

Some of the actors were dressed as Pharoahs, others as Scarab beetles - a traditional Egyptian symbol of good luck.

It is an apt reminder that much rides on this tournament for Egypt, where the game and the country are very much on show.