NEC confirms reopening as NHS Nightingale decommissioned
The NEC has confirmed that the NHS Nightingale currently occupying the venue is being decommissioned and will reopen for events on October 1.
In a letter to its clients, the Birmingham venue said that the field hospital has been in hibernation since May and did not receive a single patient.
The NEC said it will continue to support the NHS with the creation of a small non-Covid standby facility until March next year.
The letter said: “As I’m sure you will have seen, the Government has announced that conferences and exhibitions will be permitted in England from 1st October 2020.
“After an immensely challenging period, this is the news we’ve all been waiting for and I believe it’s the first step for our industry on the path towards recovery.
“Clearly there will be challenges ahead and we are certainly not out of the woods just yet, but the fact that we can all start to plan with a clear go live date is great news.
“It means the NEC will be open for business on 1 October and we couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of once again being able to look after you and your events.”
It added: “[Regarding] the announcement from the Government regarding the future of the Nightingale Hospital facilities. As said previously, the Nightingale facility at the NEC went into hibernation in May without having received a single patient and I’m pleased to say the decommissioning of this facility is now well underway. We expect to continue our support of the NHS with the creation of a small non-Covid standby facility until March 2021 at the NEC but it won’t affect our re-opening for event business on 1 October.
“We know there’s work to be done to rebuild customer confidence in live events and we’ll be doing everything we possibly can to help you stage successful and safe events. The message from me is that the NEC is open for business from 1 October, so let’s work together and get back to doing what our industry does best – staging great live events.”
