The James Boag Pure Marquee will be showing no signs of economic downturn at this year’s Melbourne Cup with the tent featuring live butterflies, a waterfall and an array of flora.

Opulent expenditure is back thanks to the Tasmanian beer company who has ordered two plane loads of live butterflies to arrive at the purpose-built tent just before the big race day.

Featuring a forest of Tasmanian fern trees and myrtle beech trees, the marquee will focus on the Tasmanian wilderness with a walkway leading to the Pure Room complete with Queensland Orchids and a waterfall.

To add to the corporate swagger will be a menu of exquisite green-lipped abalone, scallops, Barilla Bay oyster and Robbins Island wagyu beef all from down south.

While the company is definitely in fierce competition with Melbourne Cup sponsor Emirates and their Indian themed marquee, the James Boag Pure marquee will undoubtedly be one of the focus points of the Melbourne Cup.

For those spending the day in the Tabcorp marquee, be prepared to rub shoulders with American rocker Tommy Lee while the Emirates marquee will be a running a competition for the best gatecrash attempt of the year.

This stunt is sure to attract a huge crowd of wannabe racing elites eager to win the competition prize of flights for two to India.

Yet behind this facade of luxury, the Melbourne Cup is still suffering from the global financial crisis with the number of marquees featured at the event down for a second consecutive year.

However VRC general manager of sponsorship, Brendan Ford is still pleasantly surprised at the turnout considering the significant impact the financial crisis has had on various companies.

Last year’s Melbourne Cup featured 46 marquees after a peak of 53 in 2007 and there were considerably less corporate marquees last year with only 236 tents put up.

This year will see the continuation of L’Oreal’s Powder Room however the Cup sponsor will not have a marquee as with the Cup’s champagne supplier Moet and Chandon.

After ending their sponsorship deal with the VRC, Saab luxury cars will not be returning to the track at all in what is one of the more clear examples of companies struggling to keep up their image against financial pressures.