Exhibition News March 2020 | Page 57

Venue Focus Lincolnshire Showground The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Lincolnshire Showground The Lincolnshire Showground is set within 270 acres of multifunctional space, four miles north of Lincoln City Centre. The venue is home to a range of event spaces including: the Epic Centre, which features three exhibition halls and measures 1,836sqm plus six meeting rooms; the Exo Centre, a fully modernised Exhibition Hall which is currently under construction; the stand- alone Tennyson Pavilion; a Commentary Box that can be used as a meeting room space or for announcements during outdoor events; and a range of dedicated equine rings and agricultural sheds. The venue hosts and delivers a range of events including The Lincolnshire Show, Festive Food & Gift Fair, Countryside Lincs and the Lincolnshire Farming Conference. It also welcomes a number of events across the year including the British Riding Club National Championships, Steam and Vintage rally, The Motorhome Show Season Finale, Lincolnshire Business Expo, a well as the Call of the Wild music festival, music concerts, Race for Life and Outdoor Cinema evenings. Annually, the venue attracts around 300,000 visitors. The Showground is currently investing over £800,000 in the renovation of the current Exhibition Hall – now known as the EXO Centre. The National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is a 182,000sqm indoor venue, with over 160 acres of hard standing ground and 75 acres of woodland surrounding the venue. It hosts a range of shows including Autumn and Spring Fair, The Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show, MACH, Crufts, the Good Food Show and Motorcycle Live among many others. The venue is a purpose- built campus, complete with addition leisure and entertainment facilities including the £150m Resorts World Birmingham, Resorts World Arena and the Bear Grylls Adventure. As 75 per cent of the UK population is within a three- hour drive of the venue, it attracts attendees and exhibitors from all over the country and receives 2.4m visitors per year. Future development plans for the venue include continuing investments into the facilities, customer experience and sustainability credentials. The NEC Group also runs the International Convention Centre (ICC), Resorts World Arena, Arena Birmingham and Vox Conference Centre. NAEC Stoneleigh NAEC Stoneleigh is home to just over 21,000sqm of event space, alongside 800 acres of outdoor space. This includes over 11,500sqm of exhibition hall space split over three halls. The NAEC’s longest standing exhibition is The National Kit Car Motor Show, which has been held at the venue for over 40 years. Over 20 per cent of the venue’s business now comes from the automotive industry, as the venue can offer on- and off-road driving experiences. Located in Warwickshire, 98 per cent of the UK’s population is within a travel time of just four hours from the venue. The venue also has great transport links - served by both the M6 and M40 motorway, it is five miles from both Warwick Parkway and Coventry train station, and is just over one hour travel time from London Euston. NAEC Stoneleigh hosted over 290 events in 2019 and welcomed over 400,000 visitors. In 2019, the NAEC invested in signage, upgrading and improving directional signage and branding The NAEC March — 57