🔗 Share this article

Few sports can keep viewers enthralled through 45 minutes of ceremony before the first point is even contested.

Yet the detailed ceremonies unfolding in a compact earthen circle - mostly preserved for centuries - managed to do just that.

Experience the Grand Sumo Tournament

This five-day event at the Royal Albert Hall features 40 of the very best sumo athletes showcasing a sport whose earliest records dates back to the first century BC.

London's Victorian concert venue has been completely reimagined, complete with a six-tonne Japanese temple roof hanging above the ring.

Historical Ceremonies Meet Modern Technology

It is here the athletes, known as sumo professionals, perform their shiko exercises to expel dark forces, and where they clap to attract the deities.

Above all this historical practice, a massive rotating display - which wouldn't look out of place at an professional sports event - offers the spectators all the statistics and footage they could want.

International Enthusiasts Embrace Sumo

For one dedicated fan, it was a "random video" that first caught her attention a couple of years ago.

This was rapidly enhanced by the discovery of specialized online content for training facilities, where wrestlers live and train, rising before dawn to work out, followed by a nutritious chankonabe and then an midday rest - all in the effort toward gaining weight.

Hailing from Scotland, Another Perspective

Julia and her partner Cezar discovered sumo through a established path: a journey to Asia six years ago.

"We considered it a typical visitor experience, but we actually developed passion for the sport," explains the fan.

"From there on, we tried to discover networks, information, just to deepen our understanding about it," the other fan explains.

Unique Chance

Traveling to Asia is generally the primary approach to see a major championship.

This current tournament marks only the second occasion the tournament has come to London - the initial occasion was in 1991.

Even visiting the country doesn't ensure of obtaining admission, with the past period seeing completely booked tournaments.

Live Observation

For numerous spectators, the current event represents the premier chance they have experienced the sport directly - and it exceeds expectations.

"Seeing it up close, you get a sense of the speed and the power which you can't experience on TV," explains an attendee. "Their stature is remarkable."

The Matches

To win the match, one competitor needs to force his opponent out of the ring or to the ground using physical force.

The most use one of pair of techniques to accomplish this, often in split seconds - pushing, or wrestling.

Either way, the impact of the two athletes crashing together in the first moment of the match resounds around the hall.

Premium Seating

The seats right next to the dohyō are of course highly prized - but also, potentially hazardous.

During one specific contest, a 191cm wrestler went plummeting into the audience - perhaps making those in more affordable locations experience comfort.

Internal Challenges

Of course, the stature of the athletes is one of the primary elements most people think of when they contemplate wrestling.

The facility's operators revealed they "were required to locate and purchase additional seating which can support 200kg in weight."

But sumo - for all its sell-out events - is not without its troubles behind the scenes.

Potential Issues

Perhaps the strict life of a professional athlete doesn't look as attractive as it once might have.

Its appeal among the younger generation is also being challenged by different athletic pursuits, while Japan's declining population will create further complications.

Worldwide Following

Not that any of this has worried fans in London.

"Seeing all this tradition and practice that is part of sumo is quite special," one enthusiast notes. "Today, watching it live, you feel like you are more involved."

For other enthusiastic fans, the drama "made it so incredible" - as did encountering the fellow enthusiasts.

"Emerging from a highly specialized online community and being able to see all these sumo fans directly and being able to speak to other people who are equally passionate as we are - it was absolutely worthwhile."