About National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre located in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 611 acres making it the largest exhibition centre in the UK. It is the busiest and seventh-largest exhibition centre in Europe. Opened by Elizabeth II in February 1976, the first event to be staged at the venue was International Spring Fair, which has returned every year since. Growing annually, the event now occupies all of the NEC's 20 halls and the Genting Arena. HistoryThe NEC was originally going to be built adjacent to the M1 junction 21 near Leicester but it was turned down by Leicestershire County Council with claims that "The big shows won't move away from London". 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 on 2 February 1976. The building was designed by Edward Mills. 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 Neil Kinnock, European Commissioner for Transport, took the total space to 190, 000 m2 (2, 045, 142 square feet). These buildings were designed by Seymour Harris.
National Exhibition Centre Description
The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre located in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 611 acres making it the largest exhibition centre in the UK. It is the busiest and seventh-largest exhibition centre in Europe. Opened by Elizabeth II in February 1976, the first event to be staged at the venue was International Spring Fair, which has returned every year since. Growing annually, the event now occupies all of the NEC's 20 halls and the Genting Arena. HistoryThe NEC was originally going to be built adjacent to the M1 junction 21 near Leicester but it was turned down by Leicestershire County Council with claims that "The big shows won't move away from London". 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 on 2 February 1976. The building was designed by Edward Mills. 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 Neil Kinnock, European Commissioner for Transport, took the total space to 190, 000 m2 (2, 045, 142 square feet). These buildings were designed by Seymour Harris.