Site Rules Induction: All personnel delivering to the show must have been inducted with the Site Rules prior to arrival.

NEC Event Delivery System: Any contractor or exhibitor making deliveries to the halls during build-up are required to book a delivery slot in advance and print off a delivery pass.  Bookings are made direct with the NEC via their Voyage Control site. Once you have created an account, you can make single or multiple bookings and the site will show all available time slots for you to choose from. You will be emailed a booking pass which you must print off and take to the NEC with you. Official courier vehicles are exempt from this booking requirement. 

When you arrive at the NEC, please ensure you have your booking pass with you. You should report to South 3 Lorry Park from where you will be directed down to the halls for unloading. Once unloaded, you should remove your vehicle from the halls and park, free of charge, in one of the NEC car parks – traffic marshals will direct you to those being used.

Time periods allowed for unloading depend upon your vehicle size:

• Car and vehicles up to two tons:  one hour from the time of entry to the controlled inner area
• Vehicles over two tons:  two hours
• Articulated vehicles:  three hours

Rules and advice:

• All stock and materials should be unloaded and taken to the stand as quickly as possible. Vehicles must then be removed to the free outer car parks or taken off site
• Hi-Vis must be worn by all personnel in the loading bays when outside their vehicles
• Vehicles may not be parked on red lines or hatched areas unless permitted to do so by the NEC traffic staff
• The maximum speed limit of 15mph must be observed at all times on the NEC inner roads
• Traffic marshals control the flow of traffic on-site and must be co-operated with at all times. Build-up and breakdown are busy periods and delays are inevitable – marshals are there to assist with this
• Agility is the official lifting contractor and should be contacted if mechanical offloading / lifting is required. No other company is permitted to operate mechanical lifting equipment on-site
• Trolleys are not provided by the venue and your delivery company is therefore required to supply their own if required

Additional Information, Friday 15 March 2024

Deposit System:  

There will be a lot of vehicles making deliveries to the show on this day and the NEC will therefore operate the Deposit System to ensure traffic keeps flowing efficiently. Details are:

• Before arriving on-site you must pre-book your delivery slot and enter payment details for your £75 delivery deposit.
• When you access site, please follow the signs to the South 3 Lorry Park.  From there, your documentation will be checked and your vehicle will be sent down to the Controlled Inner Area for unloading.
• Provided you exit within the allocated time, you will not be charged the deposit.
• Should a driver find that they are unable to make the delivery within the allocated time through no fault of their own, they should inform the NEC traffic staff who will contact the Traffic Supervisor

From mid July you can pre-book online. The benefits of doing this are:

• You can use the Fast Track lane on arrival - getting you to the hall faster
• You don't need to queue at the kiosk to pay
• There is no need to send in a cheque in advance
• Leave within the allocated time and no deposit is charged
• Once unloaded, there is no need to return to the Lorry Park - just remove your vehicle to one of the exhibitor / contractor car parks or leave site. The vehicle is automatically checked out by ANPR camera when it leaves the inner area via the gate house

Book via Voyage Control

• Any vehicle needing to access the halls for re-stocking of stands during the open period must be pre-booked. The same system is used as for build-up. For details, please see above 
• No deliveries are permitted during show open hours for reasons of safety
• Deliveries will only be permitted between 08:00 and 09:30 before show opening each morning and all vehicles must be removed from the back of the hall prior to show open. Traffic marshals will turn away any goods vehicles arriving after this time. Please brief all delivery drivers with these timings
• If unloading is taking place in the Unloading Bays, drivers must wear hi-vis vests and appropriate shoes when outside their vehicles
• Trolleys may only be used before the opening of the exhibition each morning and must be stored out of sight on your stand (or off site) during the open period  
• Pallets must be removed from site as soon as the delivery has been made – charges will be levied for abandoned pallets
• If you require mechanical lifting assistance during the re-stocking period, this must be pre-booked before the show – please contact our offiicial freight handling supplier, DSV (formally Agility Fairs).
• Stock cannot usually be removed from your stand before the show closes – consult the Organiser's Office with any special requests

Book via Voyage Control

There is no booking system for breakdown. However, the first night of breakdown is extremely busy and systems are in place to ensure areas do not get over congested and the halls remain safe. The NEC traffic staff will do everything possible to ensure that delays are kept to a minimum and request that all drivers cooperate at all times. As we have a responsibility to separate pedestrians from traffic, larger contractor vehicles will be held back until the majority of exhibitors have cleared from the hall which usually takes one hour. Procedures for the first evening of breakdown are:

Cars and cars with trailers:

• Cars and cars with trailers are given priority access to the back of the halls as they only take a short time to load
• Exhibitors requiring vehicle access to the hall should park in the usual car parks, return to their vehicles 15 minutes before the start of breakdown and then report to the relevant inner area access gate. You will require your exhibitor badge to gain access to the halls for loading
• Any cars or cars with trailers arriving for breakdown that are not already on-site should report to the relevant inner access gate at the close of show.
• Access to the halls will be given once all visitors are clear of the hall - sometimes as long as 30 minutes from show close

Commercial vehicles:

• Commercial vehicles arriving for breakdown should report to the designated Lorry Park, South 3, from 07:15 onwards
• Vehicles will be queued in lines by vehicle size on a first come first serve basis and they can park free of charge in the queue until breakdown commences
• Breakdown for contractors will not start until approximately one hour after the close of show – giving time for visitors and the vast majority of exhibitors to clear the hall. Contractors must wear hi-vis vests and appropriate shoes. Contractors will require their contractor badge to gain access to the halls for loading
• NEC traffic staff may release vehicles at different times dependent upon which VE Door they need to access – some may clear more quickly than others

Couriers will be permitted into the hall and onto your stand space to drop off and collect during build-up and breakdown. During the open period, they will only be allowed direct access to your stand until 15 minutes prior to show opening; thereafter they will be directed to the Organiser's Office and you may be required to meet them there. Remember to advise them that trolleys and porters are not available at the venue and deliveries cannot be made prior to the build-up period.  

Please ensure that the stand name, stand number, contact name and mobile contact number are clearly marked on all deliveries by courier or post.  

Consignment details should include:

Contact Name
Exhibitor’s Company Name
Stand Number
The Photography Show & The Video Show
Halls 2 & 3
National Exhibition Centre
Birmingham B40 1NT

Additional Information for Couriers from Outside of the UK

As a result of the UK's departure from the EU, new rules on the movement of goods into the UK are now applicable.  Customs clearance is needed to import and export goods and exhibitors and contractors are required to produce shipping documentation.  This may include commercial invoices containing product descriptions, tariff numbers and terms of shipping.  Due to the special requirements for clearing exhibition goods, it is recommended that you contact our official logistics contractor, Agility, for further shipping information and guidelines.  Failure to comply with the new requirements and shipping time frames may result in significant delays to your goods.

During build-up and breakdown there is free parking for exhibitors and contractors in the outer car parks for day time hours. Overnight parking is not something that can usually be arranged.

During the show open period, daily parking is available in one of the car parks allocated by the NEC for the event. Shuttle buses will operate between the car parks and the NEC Piazza Entrance from one hour before the show open time until one hour after the show open time. Each exhibitor will be allocated with a set number of complimentary car parking tickets based on the size of your stand. Your tickets will be delivered to your stand by an account manager during build-up. Tickets are only required when you leave the car parks and are not needed for entry. Find out more here

Outside of this allocation, there is a daily charge of £16.95 per car if paid for on the door or £12.85 per car if ordered in advance.

Book parking

You can also take advantage of the Exhibitor Advantage Parking Scheme operated by the NEC. For a daily charge of £32 per car you can park immediately behind the exhibition halls, thereby having quick access and exit and a guaranteed parking space. Please note that spaces are limited, have to be pre-booked and they can only be booked for every day of the event – it’s not possible to book for only one or two days.  

Book Advantage Parking