NEC's best year for new events
Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre has reported its highest ever number of new events in a calendar year.
It has hosted 23 relocated or new events in 2023. A total of 11 new shows were launched at the venue, with an additional 12 relocated from other venues.
This included The National Equine Show, The National Halal Food Festival and Smart Factory Expo.
In total, the venue welcomes around 2.3 million visitors and more than 45,000 exhibiting companies to more than 500 events every year, including shows such as BBC Good Food Show, Spring Fair International, The National Motorhome and Caravan Show and Crufts.
Richard Mann, new business director at the NEC, said: “It’s been a fantastic year for our venue, both in terms of delivering our stand-out, established shows and bringing on board a wealth of new ones.
“We’ve also seen encouraging growth at many events, including the recent Solar & Storage Live which welcomed more than 17,000 attendees from over 20 countries. We believe this year’s successes truly underline the positive impact of the exhibitions and wider events industry on UK trade.
“We’ve placed a focus on developing our offering this past year, from launching the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging hub on our campus, to developing Show Insights which helps event organisers better understand visitor habits and profiles.
“Our outlook for 2024 is strong, with lots of diverse event content in the pipeline.”
