Birmingham vs London for Exhibiting: What International Companies Should Know

Are you planning on exhibiting in the UK? Chances are you are considering the NEC in Birmingham or ExCeL London. These are the top two venues in the UK, and the choice between them can be a difficult one, especially if you are planning from overseas.

When it comes to choosing a venue, of course, the branding and prestige associated with London has a big impact. However, many exhibitors find it to be a smart choice to go with Birmingham instead. Birmingham has supplemented the historic branding with a more modern and versatile location.

Consulting measure more than you might think.

Birmingham Airport is located right next to the NEC. You can literally see the airport from the exhibition halls. Your team can land, grab their bags from baggage claim, and be at the venue in 15 minutes. No exaggeration.

Understanding the winning location of ExCel: London’s Docklands are like the perfect location; until you try to get there. Is the flight arriving to Heathrow? You best bet is the tube, though be prepared to switch a couple times. Then round it all out with a DLR at the end. With luggage and jet lag, it takes at best 90 minutes. Gatwick? Even worse. City is the closest option, but characteristics like international flights are likely unavailable. So bringing a team from Asia or the US is trickier. \

Birmingham has the same major location advantage. If you have team members or clients coming from Manchester, Scotland, or the south, they can all easily get to Birmingham. Its all about the geography, London pulls everyone down south and then you have to deal with London traffic, or the tube during rush hour. \

** Money Talk** \

ExCeL can charge London prices, and they do. Hotels around Docklands are definitely not cheap. Everything in London costs more. Snacks, the emergency trip to buy forgotten cables, team lunches: they all add up. Your international team expects London to be expensive. We all get it, but it sure stings when you are forking over £25 for a basic lunch. \

Birmingham is better value for money for everything. Hotels closest to the NEC are proper conference hotels. But they’re charging Midlands prices, not London prices. You can get accommodation connected to the venue for, in fact, less than mediocre hotels in the docklands. Their Hilton and Crowne Plaza are right on the NEC site.

Stand build costs in London can be worse too. Other contractors build in their own costs of also parking and congestion charging, labour rates etc. Not every contractor will quote London and Birmingham differently, but there are some that do.

Space and logistics

The NEC is huge. 20 connected halls, big loading bays and the proper venue is designed for exhibitions. It knows what it is. ExCeL is also big, but Docklands is also big and compressed, which is a pain for access.

The NEC is better for load-in and load-out. Truck access is straightforward and there is moving space. ExCeL can get very congested. Especially there during a busy show, and if you need more storage than you planned or your shipping is delayed, it is also there right by the NEC. Docklands not the same, especially not the supporting soft infrastructure.

What shows actually come here

There are different types of shows, and ExCeL gets consumer shows, international big trades, and tech. ExCeL’s London location is their selling point, and many exhibitors are looking for that London address and audience. Certain industries have no choice but to be at ExCeL, as that is where their sector shows up.

The NEC has the automotive sector (The Birmingham Motor Show is hosted there), as well as manufacturing, engineering, and construction. Lots of B2B-centered events, such as Spring Fair, where the attendees are there for the show and not just in London for other reasons.

If your industry does both, you’ll see that the quality of attendees is better in Birmingham. Birmingham is a destination for the business trip. In London, attendance is more casual in that people are just wandering in, but in Birmingham, their attendance is business focused.

The honest summary

Your company executives might want to check out the sights in London, do the whole routine of taking clients to West End shows, and yeah, ExCeL is justified.

But if you’re running a serious B2B exhibition program where there is some semblance of good logistics, cost efficiency, and actually reaching your market in the UK, Birmingham is usually a better bet. The NEC works. It’s more manageable from overseas, and you’re going to spend less money to achieve the same (or better) results.

Birmingham is more efficient, and for exhibitors from overseas, that paper vs. actual dynamics is more important than people want to admit. London is prettier on the documents, but Birmingham is more efficient.