Ancient rituals and online fans

There aren’t many sports that can keep a crowd cheering through the 45 minutes of ceremony before the first point is contested.

However, the complex traditions unfolding in a small clay ring – which has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years – manage to do just that.

Then welcome to the Sumo Grand Tournament – ​​a five-day event at the Royal Albert Hall featuring 40 of the best sumo wrestlers showcasing a sport whose first mention can date back to 23 BC.

London’s Victorian concert venue has been completely transformed, complete with a six-ton ​​Japanese pagoda roof suspended above the ring.

Here wrestlers, known as rikishi, will perform leg kicks to ward off evil spirits, and where they clap to attract the attention of the gods.

And above all this old-fashioned party, there’s a giant, rotating LED screen that wouldn’t look out of place at an American basketball game, offering the crowd all the stats and replays they could want.

Sumo may be ancient, and may have strict rules governing every aspect of rikishi behavior, but it still exists in the modern world.

This modern world helps spread sumo beyond the borders of Japan.

It was ‘Random Video’ that first caught Sian Spencer’s attention two years ago.

This was soon followed by the discovery of dedicated YouTube channels for two sumo stables, where Rikishi lives and trains, waking up early to train, followed by a protein-rich soup called chankonabe, and then an afternoon nap – all in the service of gaining weight.

Then she discovered the fortnightly, 15-day tournaments known as basho, and became hooked.

The 35-year-old says the London Championship was a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, not to be missed, to see it all in action.

Julia and her partner Cesar, who live in Edinburgh, discovered sumo through a more traditional route: a trip to Japan six years ago.

“We saw it as a very touristy activity, but we ended up loving the sport,” says 34-year-old Julia.

“Since then, we’ve been trying to find communities and information just to learn more and more about them,” Cesar, 36, adds.

They found that colleagues, friends, and family could be completely surprised by their new passion.

“It’s the only sport we watch,” Julia explains, so they found like-minded people on messaging apps like Telegram.

“We found Italian groups and English groups,” says Giulia.

“Outside Japan, the Internet is the only way to interact with sports,” Cesar adds.

Going to Japan is almost the only way to see a top-tier sumo tournament.

This week’s event in London is only the second time the tournament has visited the city – the first time was in 1991 – while the last overseas trip was to Jakarta in 2013.

But even going to Japan does not guarantee a seat. Kyodo News reported that last year was the first time in 24 years that all six tickets for the six bimonthly, 15-day events were sold out in 28 years, driven by interest at home and a tourism boom that saw more than 36 million foreigners visit in 2024.

So, for many, the London Championships is their first time watching sumo in person – and it doesn’t disappoint.

“Seeing it up close, you get a feeling of speed and power that you can’t get on TV,” says Casper Elliott, a 36-year-old fan from London. “It was amazing.” “They’re so big.”

To win, one man needs to push another out of the ring or to the ground using brute force. The majority use one of two techniques to achieve this, often in milliseconds – pushing or grappling.

Either way, the sound of the rikishi colliding in the first moment of the match echoes throughout the hall.

Kaspar and his wife Mija Ukai were among the lucky ones who received tickets when they visited Japan last year, but they did not arrive in the mail in time.

But that didn’t stop them from falling head over heels, and they’ve seen every basho this year. So when it came to the London Grand Sumo Championship, they took no chances.

“I think we had four machines trying to book tickets,” Kaspar told the BBC before the event, proudly displaying his sumo towels. “We got front row seats, on the pillows.”

The ringside cushions are of course much appreciated – but also a bit risky.

On Thursday, the 181kg, 191cm Shunanomi fell into the middle of the crowd, causing those sitting in the slightly cheaper seats to breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, the size of the rikishi is one of the first things most people think of when they think of sumo. “They had to buy and purchase new chairs that can weigh up to 200kg,” Albert Hall’s director of programming revealed to The Guardian earlier this week.

But sumo, despite all the events it has witnessed, is not without problems behind the scenes. A series of scandals over the past two decades surrounding bullying, match-fixing and sexism have tarnished its image.

Then there’s the fact that last year – although it was a busy year for ticket sales – saw the smallest number of new recruits joining the stables.

The strict life of a rikishi may not seem as attractive as it once did. Its popularity among Japanese youth is also threatened by other sports, such as baseball. As resident sumo fan Thomas Fabbri told the BBC: “My Japanese friends think I’m crazy, because they see it as a sport for old people.”

Japan’s low birth rate also won’t help, nor will the Japan Sumo Association’s rule that restricts each stable to only one foreign rikishi. Despite this, the Mongolians have dominated over the past few years – and one of the most exciting rising stars hails from Ukraine.

Not that any of this has worried fans in London.

“Seeing all these rituals and ceremonies that go along with sumo is very special,” says fan Sian. “Now, when you see it in person, you feel like you’re a part of it.”

Julia and Cesar agree in a letter the next day.

“It’s a Japanese sport but we didn’t feel out of place, there are a lot of people from all over the world around us.”

For Mega, the drama “made it unbelievable” — as did meeting other fans.

“Coming out of the very dedicated Reddit community and being able to see all these sumo fans in person and being able to chat with other people who are just as interested in this as we are – it was worth every penny of sumo gold.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Fabry

Want to watch? Audiences can listen via BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, and the BBC Sport website and app.