London to stage second professional Sumo event outside of Japan next October

London will host just the second professional Sumo wrestling event ever staged outside of Japan at the Royal Albert Hall next October.

The Grand Sumo Tournament will take place at the 153-year-old venue in partnership with the Japan Sumo Association, Nihon Sumo Kyokai, to help mark its centenary.

The only previous occasion when Sumo has been hosted professionally overseas was in 1991, when the same venue staged a five-day “basho” before a sold-out crowd and which was broadcast nationally in the UK.

After a 34-year wait, London will again play host to Japan’s national sport.

“Good things come to those who wait,” the Royal Albert Hall’s chief executive, James Ainscough OBE, told the PA news agency.

“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.”

The 1991 event, staged as part of that year’s Japan Festival in London, was a technical feat for organisers.

Wheelbarrows were used to transport specialist soil to Kensington in west London from a site in Heathrow, while adaptations had to be made to the stage area to ensure it could bear the impact of the competitors as they wrestled.

“The fact they’ve chosen to come back when they could have gone to any capital city around the world is quite an honour, particularly for us here at the Royal Albert Hall,” Ainscough continued.

“To find something like Sumo, which isn’t just a sport but is a cultural moment, has a great tradition and ritual attached to it, it makes it even more interesting.

“We’ve had