The NEC was originally going to be built adjacent to the M1 motorway (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".

[3] In November 1971, the Secretary of State for the Environment granted outline planning approval for the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

[4] On 16 February 1973, then Prime Minister Edward Heath travelled up from London to cut a white ribbon and initiate its construction,[5] which was carried out by RM Douglas (know today as Tilbury Douglas),[6] to a design by Edward Mills.

[8] The seventh hall of the NEC complex, a multi-purpose indoor arena named the Birmingham International Arena (currently branded BP Pulse Live), opened in December 1980.

[12] The NEC has 20 interconnected halls covering 190,000 m2 (2,000,000 sq ft) of floor space.