Our comprehensive guide to exhibiting at Glee 2025
16-18 September 2025, NEC Birmingham
GLEE 2025 is taking place in September with curated show sectors in Birmingham NEC over 3 days. The exhibition enables visitors from garden centres, independents, online and retailers and garden designers to meet with manufacturers, dealers and distributors showcasing trends, exciting new products, equipment and services. Visitors will be looking to discover home & gifts, pets, food and catering, plants, landscaping, garden care and outdoor entertaining brands.
It is a fantastic opportunity to launch new equipment, services and products as it is the UK’s leading garden and outdoor living trade show and is attended by buyers and visitors with purchasing power. Staged at the NEC in Birmingham, there is ample opportunity for companies to showcase new products with plenty of space to wow exhibition visitors.
The exhibition stats from the 2024 show demonstrate that 75% of visitors’ main reason for attending was to purchase products and services.
The event also boasted that it attracted visitors from 50 different countries.
11% of visitors say they planned to make orders of £1m+.
Exhibitors
With hundreds of exhibitors there are many big names such as Ivyline, Woodmansterne, Westland, Stanley, Hozelock, Lovania Nurseries and Gardena through to smaller brands.
Need a price for your Glee 2025 exhibition stand?
exhibitors
of Glee 2024 visitors were new for this year
of visitor's objective was to discover or purchase products or services
About NEC Birmingham
Motive Exhibitions – our opinion
We have built and dismantled stands for dozens of businesses who have chosen to exhibit at the Birmingham NEC. Along with ExCel London, it is one of the best known exhibition sites in the country and easy to get to as it is equidistant from all areas of the UK.
As the exhibition halls are large, it tends to host the larger exhibitions so the key thing here is to get noticed as the trade shows attract a large number of exhibitors. At Motive Exhibitions, we have exhibited numerous times here and we know the tips and tricks to get even the smallest brands noticed in a sea of exhibitors. A great advantage of the NEC is that all the stands are on the main show floor so the footfall is fantastic for making connections and building your brand recognition.
Birmingham is now a central hub for exhibitions and as such, boasts a huge range of hotels and restaurants across a whole spectrum of budgets so is a very attractive place to attend trade fairs for delegates.
Pros
- Easy to get to as the most central point of the UK
- Well known venue so will attract a lot of footfall from potential customers
- Free parking for exhibitors and builders during build and breakdown
- Free shuttle bus between car parks and exhibition halls
- Perfect if you have large machinery you want to showcase, as the NEC has the space and logistics to manage it
- Huge floorspace with all stands on the main show floor thoroughfare so lots of face-to-face opportunities
- Free Wi-Fi access to exhibitors and exhibition visitors
- A mix of stand space available to book from space only to flexible shell schemes
- Huge range of hotel rooms to suit any budget available close to the exhibition halls
Cons
- It is fairly expensive
- As with most exhibition spaces, you must book early particularly if you want a large space to showcase a large product
- There are no storage facilities available at the venue, so you will have to organise a separate space for storing packing cases etc. if needed
- Logistics – you will need to bring your own trollies, pump trucks or porters to move equipment if you are not using an exhibition company as the venue does not hire them out
- As the space is huge and mostly used by large trade fairs and shows, it is possible that smaller brands could be overlooked, but with clever stand design and a good exhibition company behind you, it is still possible to make a splash
“I highly recommend Motive Exhibitions. We have now worked with them to exhibit at The International Food Event 2024, the TUCO Summer Conference in and Lunch!. They are also assisting us at smaller shows as well where my resource is such that I need external support.
They are adaptable, innovative, very helpful and really understand the demands of food exhibitions, especially those where we cook and sample on the stand.
The design nous is exceptional as well.”
Tim White, Scrocchiarella
Custom stands
Modular Stands
Shell Scheme Stands
Stand Hire
The first thing you need to do is to decide what you want to achieve and weigh this up against the cost of exhibiting. With floor space somewhere between £250m2 and an eye watering £1250m2, you really want to get this nailed.
The first question we’d ask you is, do you know who your customer actually is? Work out who you want to talk to and what you want from the show. Is it 50 great new leads? Or selling £20,000 pounds worth of widgets? Or meeting 10 people who place orders? Whatever it is, you must have a number, a way of measuring, a target. You might not hit it at the first show, but unless you know what you are aiming for you will never really know whether it was a success.
You will need to budget for the stand space and the exhibition stand itself. Sure, your team can take a cheap roller banner and some table clothes along with a few old bits of furniture that you’ve got in the office, but is that the lasting memory you’d like prospective customers to have? If you decide to exhibit and pay for space, it is important that you make the most of it as you will have a much better chance of hitting your targets and getting everything you want from exhibiting.
Every exhibition stand we create is completely bespoke and designed around your prospective customers. We work with you to create an inspiring and unique experience that will connect people with your brand. We optimise clever designs to create immersive experiences and spaces to meet and greet, which are tailored to your budget and needs.
Let us transform your ideas into an inspirational exhibition space!
How to write the perfect exhibition brief
When you decide to exhibit, you will need to make some key decisions before you start the process of designing your exhibition stand. We’ve worked with growing SMEs, specialist brands and household names who were all in the position you are now. In our article we share the details that make the difference between a good exhibition and a truly spectacular one. Download our guide to get all the information you’ll need to get your brief underway.
FAQs
Do you have any other clients exhibiting at Glee 2025?
Yes we do. Two regular clients have engaged us to design and build their stand for GLEE 2025.
Building multiple stands at one venue is beneficial for us and our clients. We have a bigger workforce onsite, extra tools and project management teams. It also reduces the carbon emissions with one large team and less vehicles.
How much do exhibition stands cost?
Several factors will influence the cost of your exhibition stand:
- Size of the space you have booked
- Whether you anticipate your event to be a one-off exhibition or whether you need an exhibition stand you can reuse and reconfigure multiple times for different venues
- What do you want to achieve from exhibiting?
- We will collaborate with you to establish a plan and design and work with your budget
What types of exhibition stands are there?
There are different types of exhibition stand spaces available at Glee 2025 ready for your exhibition contractor to build you a bespoke stand for your brand. Choose from island, space-only and shell scheme space. We are able to design and build custom, modular and shell scheme stands. You can choose to own or hire your stand or combine both options. Take a look at our gallery for inspiration on what’s possible with your exhibition stand.
Bespoke exhibition stand
Custom exhibition stands – also known as bespoke exhibition stands – are designed specially for a specific event or a calender of exhibitions and totally unique to your brand and requirements.
Your purchased stand space, show objectives, target audience, venue restrictions, and exhibition themes are all taken into account to create the perfect customised option.
There are many ways to create a bespoke stand. Choose a single or double-deck option. Mix bought or hired elements. Combine eye-catching graphics and props with your own products. Let your creativity run wild to create a showstopping custom exhibition stand that will wow your customers and competitors!
Island exhibition stand space
Looking for an exhibition space without sides? You need an island site – as the name suggests it has no sides and usually you can walk around every side.
Modular exhibition trade show stands
A modular stand is an exhibition system comprising different sections that can be reconfigured to fit different exhibition spaces, without compromising on the graphics.
Shell scheme exhibition stand
A shell scheme refers to the preassigned space that you are allocated by the exhibition organisers. This is a completely blank canvas ready for you to plan and create your exhibition space.
Find out more about the different types of stands you can have.
“The NEC is probably the most well-known exhibition venue in the UK and home to some major, high-profile, industry-leading events.
“If you’re looking to dip your toe into exhibiting or expanding your exhibition stand and presence, NEC Birmingham will give you the most flexibility in terms of space and choice of shows”. Dave Hennessy, Director, Motive Exhibitions
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Get in touch
If you are not sure which type of stand might be best for your needs, please get in touch and we will be happy to talk through all the options available to you.
Motive Exhibitions, 3 Orion Court, Ambuscade Road, Colmworth Business Park, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, PE19 8YX
