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The National Exhibition Centre ('''NEC''') is the seventh largest Exhibition Centre in Europe , located in Solihull , near Birmingham , England . It is near junction 6 of the M42 Motorway , and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International Railway Station . It has 21 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres (2.54 km&2). The NEC Arena, host to large music concerts, is part of the complex. The 11,000 capacity NEC Arena was the largest multi-purpose arena in the UK when opening in the mid-1980s and although not the largest it is still a popular venue for touring acts. Together, the NEC and the NEC Arena host over 5 million visitors each year. In the 1980s, and on, it hosted performances by many international musicians and music groups, several of which have played at the NEC Arena on more than one occasion. Canadian rock band Rush filmed their VHS and DVD release entitled '' A Show Of Hands '' at the NEC Arena in 1988. Some of this recording featured in the The Audio Album Of The Same Name . Also, in 2003, the NEC Arena was host to WWE's Passport to Pain tour. The NEC was home to the British International Motorshow from 1978 to 2004. The NEC also hosts the Clothes Show Live each year, with high street fashions, Model Scouts and Runway Shows. Major sporting events are also held at the venue including Horse Of The Year Show and the British Open Show Jumping Championships . HISTORY The 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 89,000m&2 of exhibition space, was opened by The Queen in February 1976. The building was designed by Edward Mills . In 1989, the Queen opened three further halls, increasing the space to 125,000m&2. Four more halls were added in 1993, the total exhibition space increasing to 158,000m&2. Another four new halls, opened in September 1998 by The Right Honourable Neil Kinnock , European Commissioner for Transport, took the total space to 190,000m&2. CAR PARKS There are several large car parks around the NEC. Shuttle buses operate to and from the car parks some of which are at a distance to the exhibition halls. The parking fee in 2006 was £7.00, which has been increased to £8.00 for 2007. NEC GROUP The parent NEC Group also runs the National Indoor Arena (NIA) and International Convention Centre (ICC), both in central Birmingham. The International Convention Centre includes the Symphony Hall , a Concert Hall opened in April 1991. PHOTOGRAPHS |
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