Exhibition Venue Guide
NEC Birmingham
The UK's largest exhibition venue. 18 halls, on the motorway network with its own rail station and airport link.
18 exhibition halls, plus 32 conference suites and outdoor space.
Individual hall dimensions, ceiling heights and floor loading limits are not on the NEC's main pages - they sit in the NEC Downloads library as hall maps and site plans. Pull the one for your hall before you design anything.
Birmingham International rail station is a five-minute covered walk from the halls - follow signage past Hall 2 and over the bridge link. Birmingham Airport connects via the covered bridge to the Air-Rail Link on the first floor. Birmingham city centre is around 14 miles by car, or a 10-minute train from Birmingham International.
A free shuttle runs between the car parks and halls from one hour before to one hour after event opening. It does not normally run during build and breakdown - plan to walk.
Nearest petrol station is on the A45 next to the Arden Hotel. TOA Taxis: 0121 427 8888.
Delivery slots during the build period must be booked through Voyage Control (voyagecontrol.com/necbirmingham). Your Voyage Control QR code allows free exit from the car park.
The lorry park has toilet blocks at North 12 and South 2, with drinking water taps. Dining is in the main buildings.
Book exhibitor parking in advance for the best rate - parking.thenec.co.uk/NECBirminghamexhBooking. Car parks run on ANPR barriers, and you must validate parking before leaving the campus.
During build: parking behind the halls is for offloading only. Once you have unloaded, move the vehicle to a visitor car park. Overstay charges apply if you sit in a delivery slot past its expiry.
Show open days: some organisers provide a free parking promo code; others do not. Exhibitor Advantage Parking can be added at the point of booking.
Breakdown: Voyage Control pre-booking is not required for access to the rear of the halls.
All vehicles must be moved from the rear of the hall at least 15 minutes before the show opens.
High-visibility bibs are mandatory in offloading areas. Know your stand number and your nearest Vehicle Entry (VE) door before you arrive.
Nobody under 16 is permitted in the halls during build or breakdown.
The NEC does not provide trolleys, pump trucks or porters - bring your own. There is a nominated lifting contractor per event, listed in the exhibitor manual. There is no NEC storage for empty packing cases; the lifting contractor handles these.
Every hall has a painters' cupboard with water and a sink.
Venue services ordering is priced by how early you book:
Payment is required before the event; the NEC does not invoice afterwards.
A stand plan must be submitted - electrics, water and internet are pulled from floor ducts, and the plan determines where they surface. Without one, services are placed centrally and moving them later carries a cost.
Catering delivery changes need five or more days' notice.
These are the NEC's own documents, hosted on their site. Always check the NEC Downloads library for the current version - the NEC re-issues these annually and the direct links change.
Per-hall fire safety arrangements are also published in the Downloads library, one document per hall.
Shows we have built here: Smart Manufacturing, The Photography Show and the Care Show. The NEC runs over 500 events a year across its 18 halls, including Spring Fair, Autumn Fair and Food & Drink Expo.
We build at the NEC from our Fordingbridge depot in Hampshire - closer than most contractors shipping up from the south coast, and considerably closer than a Scottish-only builder.
Recent work here includes MaintainX at Smart Manufacturing, Laowa at The Photography Show and Paragon Skills at the Care Show.
The NEC's ordering deadlines punish late decisions harder than most venues - 20% inside 28 days, 30% on site. We work backwards from those dates when we plan your build, which is usually where the savings are.
