Sumo to hold second-ever event outside of Japan, returning to London after 34 years

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Sumo wrestling will return to London for the first time in 34 years in 2025 as the historic Royal Albert Hall hosts a Grand Sumo Tournament next October—just the second official event to be hosted outside of Japan in the sport’s 1500-year history. The Victorian concert venue was built in 1871 and has witnessed performances from the likes of Muhammad Ali, The Beatles, and Adele in its storied history—but also hosted the first-ever official sumo tournament held outside Japan in 1991. It is the first five-day basho outside Japan since that tournament, which was won by the current Chairman of Sumo Kyokai, the Japan Sumo Association, Nobuyoshi Hakkaku, who was in London to promote the event. Each evening will feature traditional ceremonial events, including a dohyō-iri ring entrance ceremony and approximately twenty bouts of sumo wrestling from over forty makuuchi rikishi (wrestlers) from Japan’s top-level sumo division. A champion will be crowned at the end of the five-day tournament between October 15th and 19th, which is so rarely taken abroad due to the specific hosting requirements. A variety of factors, including the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, delayed the sport’s return to London. But organizers believe the time is right because sumo is having a bit of a moment. The 1991 event was broadcast live to millions across the UK as part of the Japan Festival and witnessed in person by sold-out crowds, who paid up to 100 GBP for a ticket, around 227 GBP today (288 USD). The correct clay for the sacred dohyo (wrestling ring) had to be sourced from a quarry near Heathrow Airport, while a huge drum and the ceremonial canopy called yakata, were shipped in specially from Japan. The Hall had to have the backstage lavatories weight-tested, chairs reinforced, and extra-large showers fitted. The main attraction back then was Hawaiian Konishiki, the heaviest sumo wrestler ever, nicknamed the ‘Dump Truck’, who weighed in at 238 kg. Sumo is the national sport of Japan and originated around 1500 years ago in sacred ceremonial Shinto rites to pray for prosperity and bountiful harvest. This article was provided by The Associated Press.