Birmingham Arena to be renamed bp pulse LIVE

Image above: A vision for the future: Resorts World Arena to be renamed bp pulse LIVE from 1st September 2024

bp pulse amplifies presence with electrifying new partnership with Birmingham Arena

Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena will be renamed bp pulse LIVE as part of a new sponsorship agreement between the NEC Group and bp pulse, one of the UK’s leading rapid and ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging networks.

Located on the NEC Campus and renowned as Birmingham’s hottest live event venue, the 15,600 capacity arena, will adopt its new name on 1st September 2024.

bp pulse aims to make bp pulse LIVE a top choice for EV drivers attending events. With the bp pulse Gigahub™ - one of the UK’s largest public EV charging hubs with 180 charging bays - conveniently located nearby, concert-goers can recharge their EVs before or during an event.

This new venue sponsorship with one of the UK’s leading live events businesses, NEC Group, marks a significant moment in the collaboration between the events and transport sectors. While bp pulse aims to support drivers in their transition and increase EV travel to and from the venue, the NEC Group is dedicated to providing the highest quality visitor experiences.

The deal expands bp pulse’s relationships in the live music events industry, which already include its sponsorship of community music charity, Music Workshop, and title sponsorship of CarFest, the UK's largest family fundraising festival founded by Chris Evans.

Commenting on the new partnership, NEC Group CEO Melanie Smith said:“We are delighted to partner with the innovative bp pulse, providing electrifying experiences in the venue as well as supporting audiences to make the transition to electric vehicles. The best partners are those who can add value for the millions of live-event fans that walk through our doors each year, so we can’t wait to start working with bp pulse.”

Elen Macaskill, Chief Customer Officer at bp pulse added: “We are excited by our thrilling new partnership and to add our name to such a prestigious music venue. Our focus at bp pulse is on delivering convenient and reliable EV charging for customers. By teaming up with a well-known arena at the heart of the UK, we aim to raise awareness of our brand and confidence in EV charging, given how conveniently close it is to our EV charging Gigahub™.”

Vince Williams, Marketing Director for Resorts World Birmingham said: “As the Arena takes on a new headline partner in bp pulse LIVE we wish them every success and also look forward to continuing our relationship and affiliation with NEC Group. Enjoying a position adjacent to the Arena, we look forward to playing our part in the exciting developments for the NEC in the years to come.”

NOTES TO EDITOR

For NEC Group media enquiries, please contact the PR & Communications team on: communications@necgroup.co.uk or 0121 767 3214.

For bp pulse media enquiries, please contact the bp press office London, bppress@bp.com, +44 7919 217511

ABOUT THE NEC GROUP

NEC Group is the UK’s leading live events business with over forty-five years of world-class expertise in venue and destination management. Every year, millions come together at five of the UK’s leading business, leisure, and entertainment venues which come under the NEC Group’s portfolio - the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), International Convention Centre (ICC), Vox Conference Venue (Vox), Resorts World Arena and Utilita Arena Birmingham. The five venues offer some of the best-connected real estate in Europe.

ABOUT BP PULSE

bp pulse is bp’s electric vehicle (EV) charging business. It is one of the leading rapid and ultra-fast public EV charging networks in the UK and operates one of the largest number of sites with ultra-fast charging in Germany.

Focused on fast, reliable charging bp pulse is rolling out charge points to consumers wherever they need them: destination, on-the-go and bp forecourts.

EV charging is one of the key transition growth engines driving bp's transformation to an integrated energy company. The company aims to grow its network of public EV charging points by 2030 to over 100,000 worldwide.

While today bp is mostly in oil and gas, we increased the proportion of our global annual investment that went into our lower carbon & other transition businesses from around 3% in 2019 to around 23% in 2023.