National Exhibition Centre - LG Arena

The LG Arena, host to large music concerts, is part of the complex. The 16,000 capacity LG Arena was the largest multi-purpose arena in the UK when opening in the mid-1980s as "The NEC Arena" and is still a major popular venue for many large, international touring acts. Together, the NEC and the LG Arena host over 3 million visitors each year.

From 1 September 2008, the NEC Arena was officially renamed as the LG Arena, following a naming-rights sponsorship deal with global electronics company LG. The arena then underwent a £29 million overhaul of its facilities, paid for by loans from Birmingham City Council and regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

Work on the LG Arena was finished mid October 2009 and the arena hosted its first concert with Tom Jones. Included in the installation were around 1,000 new seats, bringing the capacity to 16,000 to compete with venues such as the O2 Arena in London and the Manchester Arena in Manchester, which are amongst the busiest music venues in the world. Also constructed were new hospitality areas and a forum containing new bars, restaurants and other customer facilities. Prior to its first concert, the arena hosted the 2009 Horse of the Year show.

Being able to host large and intimate shows the LG Arena Birmingham does offer a wide range of comedians that are nationally and internationally known with acts such as Michael Mcintyre, Milton Jones, Ricky Gervais, Al Murray and Peter Kay bringing their shows to the Arena.

In 2011 the LG Arena became the 10th busiest arena in the world, closely following Madison Square Garden.