When
plans for the NEC were first drawn up it was considered by many
as the wrong location for a National Exhibition Centre. It was
thought that visitors would prefer London and that they would
not be prepared to travel to the Midlands. How wrong they were.
Now over 25 years old the NEC has been a Midlands success story.
Starting with 9 halls and opened by the Queen in February 1976,
the NEC was expanded by a further 3 halls in 1989. A further
3 halls were added in 1998.
The
NEC is no drain on the local economy. It provides sufficient
income to cover all its costs and contributes a profit to
the city council. It has provided thousands of jobs and enhanced
tourism considerably. The NEC has contributed greatly to the
economy of the West Midlands region.
The
motor show was becoming too large for the London exhibition
facilities and in 1978 the motor show was a massive crowd
puller when it opened in Birmingham. It has since gone from
strength to strength and attracts over 700,000 visitors. The
Birmingham NEC motor show now ranks alongside the Internationally
acclaimed shows in Detroit, Brussels and Turin. The motor
show is the largest publicly attended show in the UK. The
largest exhibition is the Trade Spring Fair although the attendance
figures pale into insignificance (80,000) compared with the
motor show.
The
NEC is a pleasure to walk round. It is modern, vibrant and
well landscaped with its own beautiful lake and thoughtful
arrangement of walkways. Parking facilities for thousands
of cars, the nearby train terminus and Birmingham's International
Airport provide the infrastructure to ensure that this premier
development remains number 1 for events in the UK
The
official NEC web site can be found at www.necgroup.co.uk/nec
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