NEC Group Supports Birmingham Pride

The team behind some of the region’s largest venues have been celebrating ahead of this weekend's Birmingham Pride as it seeks to enhance its approach to diversity and inclusion. 

With the big event set to take place 27th & 28th May, the Group – which operates the NEC, ICC, Vox, Utilita Arena Birmingham and Resorts World Arena – organised a programme of activity to celebrate with staff. This included a themed staff lunch, baking, face painting, adding a flash of colour to the Utilita Arena Birmingham ‘wonderwall’ and sky needles which will also be visible over the weekend, and the sharing of educational material about the origins of Pride.  

This support of Pride Birmingham is an example of the business’ wider focus on diversity and inclusion, having recently setup a D&I Working Group made up of 16 volunteers from across a number of departments. The Group has already championed initiatives such as Ask for Clive and Ask for Angela, has a multi-faith onsite Chaplaincy, introduced Blind Recruitment and operates the first arenas in the UK to have introduced Mental Health First Aiders at selected events.  

Aceel Dear, Head of NEC Group Marketing and D&I Lead said: “Pride reminds us of the importance of ensuring everyone in the world can survive and thrive as their unique selves. As a company, we support this ethos and want to spread a culture of inclusivity and diversity amongst our staff and visitors. We will continue to educate ourselves, recognising and valuing the different knowledge, skills, backgrounds and perspectives that people bring to our venues.” 

Arrangements have also been made for those planning to attend Pride Birmingham this weekend and would like to park in the city centre. They can benefit from discounted parking of a flat rate of £6 per calendar day at Utilita Arena Birmingham across Saturday to Monday – a stone's throw from Centenary Square where the parade will begin. This gives a significant discount of up to £14, providing some of the best value parking in the city centre across the weekend. Available on a first come first served basis, customers just need to drive up on the day to either the Utilita Arena Birmingham North or South Car Parks (sat nav B1 2AA).