LONDON is set to play host to a stunning sumo wrestling event.
The 153-year-old Royal Albert Hall will host just the second ever Grand Sumo Tournament to take place outside of Japan.
GettyThe Grand Sumo tournament is set to be held outside of Japan for just the second time in history[/caption]
GettyLondon’s Royal Albert Hall will play host to the stunning event[/caption]
PA40 of Japan’s top wrestlers will be competing in the event[/caption]
PAThe Kensington venue also hosted the last event outside of Japan in 1991[/caption]
The only other time it was hosted outside of its native country was also at the Kensington venue in 1991, when it hosted a five-day “basho” in front of a sold-out crowd which was broadcast nationally in the UK.
And 34 years later, London will once again play host to Japan’s national sport, with the Hall transforming into a temple with authentic soil and sand dohyō (ring) with a roof reminiscent of a Shinto shrine.
As many as 40 of Japan’s top wrestlers are expected to travel to London to compete in the event from October 15-19 to gain Yokozuna – the top rank of a grand champion.
There are six tournaments each year every two months which caused difficulties in trying to arrange a date that could squeeze into the schedule.
And the winner of the 1991 tournament and now chairman Sumo Kyokai, Hakkaku Rijicho, was in London to help launch the event on Wednesday.
In a statement Hakkaku said: “There were many talks before but with Covid it was not the right moment.
“We will really bring the authentic way of presenting a Sumo tournament to London.
“It starts with the wooden clacks that marks the start and end of the tournament.
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“These are very simple things but we would like to keep this authenticity when we present it in London.”
A statement from Royal Albert chief executive, James Ainscough OBE said: “Good things come to those who wait.
“We’ve tried a number of times but various things have got in the way, not least Covid.
“We have our own timetable of shows here, Sumo tournaments in Japan have their own rhythm, so finding a moment for our timetable and their rhythm to coincide has taken this long.
“But we’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing it back in 2025.”
Ainscough added: “It’s what the Royal Albert Hall was built for.
“It says on the outside of the building, we were built for all nations, and so part of our job is to enable the British public to encounter different cultures and different experiences.”
Sumo is considered more than a sport in its homeland.
It has a ceremonial-religious aspect dating back more than 1,500 years.
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