Dude, they were planning the sham event for some time. The workaround to book it occurred at the "last minute".
BTW, renting a red carpet would take 5 minutes of googling, a couple phone calls and a pickup truck or van. Couple hours, tops.
The silly photo backdrop would take 15 - 30 minutes to layout electronically and a few hours to be ready at the printer.
This wasn't the Academy Awards. A couple props, friends of the Hippo Dumpling Gang and a camera.