Birmingham
Birmingham is home to the National Exhibition Centre, the busiest exhibition centre in Europe. It consists of several halls including the 12,300 seated NEC Arena, the National Indoor Arena (NIA) for world class sports, and the ICC Halls which consist of meeting rooms and the Symphony Hall. Downtown Birmingham also hosts UK's largest casino at Star City.
Over 4 million visitors come every year to see concerts and entertainment events which feature everything from Tina Turner to the World Figure Skating and World Gymnastic championships, to the National Adventure Sports Show featuring skateboarders and BMX bike competitions. There is usually several venues every month, and you can keep up with what is showing by visiting the NEC web site at: http://www.necgroup.co.uk/.
Visitors can easily get to any of the NEC Halls by car, rail, or by flying into Birmingham International Airport. The NEC Halls have onsite car parks if you choose to drive, and Birmingham is at the hub of the UK motorway networks. You can drive directly from the M6, M1, M40, and M42. If you choose instead to go by train, you'll travel to Birmingham International Station and walk a covered bridglink to the venues. Trains are also a few minutes walk from downtown Birmingham if you'd like to catch a meal before your show. The NEC also offers a travel services directory if you need to assistance getting a large group of people to the centre.
Birmingham International Airport is situated just a few minutes from the NEC, and you can usually get inexpensive flights from over 34 destinations in the UK, Europe and North America. Booking during a weekday will allow you to get the most inexpensive flights into Birmingham, and you can do some shopping and dining at the many wonderful shops and restaurants in town while you are waiting for your venue on the weekend. In fact, flying into Birmingham International Airport is often less expensive than flying into London's Heathrow or Gatwick airports.
Birmingham is a city that caters to visitors, and hotel rooms, guest houses, and self catering apartments are plentiful to find. It boasts "75,000 bedspaces within an hour". The city centre itself has nearly 7,000 hotel bed spaces ranging from 5 star hotels to youth hostels. As always though, it is best to book your hotel rooms a few weeks in advance to get the nearest facilities.
If restaurants are more of your thing, Birmingham has plenty to choos from. In 2004, Birmingham beat 15 other UK cities to win the EthniciCity 2004 award recognising the quality and diversity of the city's food. In 2005, Birmingham was crowned "the Curry Capital of Britain". Balti houses are everywhere and remain open to the wee hours of the morning.
Birmingham is a city where you can really find a little of everything. It well earns its reputation as one of the UK's biggest party cities. Pubs, dance halls, and clubs are all over the city. It's well worth a trip to see what its all about.
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See a Map of Birmingham