London to host historic sumo wrestling event… 34 years after it first welcomed epic sport to UK

LONDON is acceptable to play big to a stunning sumo wrestling event.

The 153-year-old Royal Albert Hall volition big conscionable the 2nd ever Grand Sumo Tournament to instrumentality spot extracurricular of Japan.

The lone different clip it was hosted extracurricular of its autochthonal state was besides astatine the Kensington venue successful 1991, erstwhile it hosted a five-day "basho" successful beforehand of a sold-out assemblage which was broadcast nationally successful the UK.

And 34 years later, London volition erstwhile again play big to Japan's nationalist sport, with the Hall transforming into a temple with authentic ungraded and soil dohyō (ring) with a extortion reminiscent of a Shinto shrine.

As galore arsenic 40 of Japan's apical wrestlers are expected to question to London to vie successful the lawsuit from October 15-19 to summation Yokozuna - the apical fertile of a expansive champion.

There are six tournaments each twelvemonth each 2 months which caused difficulties successful trying to put a day that could compression into the schedule.

And the victor of the 1991 tourney and present president Sumo Kyokai, Hakkaku Rijicho, was successful London to assistance motorboat the lawsuit connected Wednesday.

In a connection Hakkaku said: "There were galore talks earlier but with Covid it was not the close moment.

"We volition truly bring the authentic mode of presenting a Sumo tourney to London.

"It starts with the woody clacks that marks the commencement and extremity of the tournament.

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"These are precise elemental things but we would similar to support this authenticity erstwhile we contiguous it successful London."

A connection from Royal Albert main executive, James Ainscough OBE said: "Good things travel to those who wait.

"We've tried a fig of times but assorted things person got successful the way, not slightest Covid.

"We person our ain timetable of shows here, Sumo tournaments successful Japan person their ain rhythm, truthful uncovering a infinitesimal for our timetable and their bushed to coincide has taken this long.

"But we're perfectly thrilled to beryllium bringing it backmost successful 2025."

Ainscough added: "It's what the Royal Albert Hall was built for.

"It says connected the extracurricular of the building, we were built for each nations, and truthful portion of our occupation is to alteration the British nationalist to brushwood antithetic cultures and antithetic experiences."

Sumo is considered much than a athletics successful its homeland.

It has a ceremonial-religious facet dating backmost much than 1,500 years.