The British International Motor Show was held regularly between 1903 and 2008, initially in London at Crystal Palace, Olympia and then Earl's Court before moving to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in 1976, where it stayed until May 2004.
It then returned to London, for July 2006 and July 2008, at the new location of ExCeL. The 2010 and 2012 shows were subsequently cancelled. The event is recognised by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles. The London Motor Show relaunched at Battersea Park from 5 to 8 May 2016. The next London Motor Show took place from 5 to 7 May 2017.
Britain's first motor show—for horseless carriages—was held in South Kensington in 1896 at the Imperial Institute under the auspices of Lawson's Motor Car Club. The first British Motor Show organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) was held at Crystal Palace, London in 1903, the same year that the speed limit was raised from 14 miles per hour (23 km/h) to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) by the Motor Car Act 1903 and two years before the formation of The Automobile Association. After the 1903 event it moved to Olympia in London, where it was held for the next 32 years before moving to Earl's Court, London from 1937 until 1976, except for the period of World War II during which time there were no shows.