National Exhibition Centre
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The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is the seventh largest exhibition centre in Europe, located in Solihull, near Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in 628 acres (3 km²).
The NEC Arena, host to large music concerts, is part of the complex.
Together, The NEC and The NEC Arena host over 5 million visitors each year.
The NEC Group website, www.necgroup.co.uk is the UK's most visited exhibition website receiving more than 8 million visits a year.
History
In November 1971, the Secretary of State for the Environment granted outline planning approval for the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
The NEC, originally comprising 89,000 m² of exhibition space, was opened by the Queen in February 1976.
In 1989, the Queen opened three further halls, increasing the space to 125,000 m²
Four more halls were added in 1993, the total exhibition space increasing to 158,000 m²
Another four new halls, opened in September 1998 by The Right Honourable Neil Kinnock, European Commissioner for Transport, took the total space to 190,000 m²
NEC Group
The parent NEC Group also runs the National Indoor Arena (NIA) and International Convention Centre (ICC), both in central Birmingham. The latter houses Symphony Hall, a concert venue opened in April 1991.
External link
- NEC Group website (http://www.necgroup.co.uk/)