Sumo wrestlers bring 1,500 years of tradition to London as the sport has an international moment

abcnews.go.com:

London’s Royal Albert Hall is preparing to host a different kind of spectacle: Sumo wrestling

LONDON — London’s Royal Albert Hall, the gilded concert venue known for an annual “Rule Britannia” singalong, is preparing to host a different kind of spectacle: Sumo wrestling.

Camera shutters clicked furiously and reporters “ahhhed” in delight Wednesday as wrestlers Daisuke Kitanowaka and Akira Fukutsuumi demonstrated a sideways stamp and put on an exhibition of heavyweight grappling to promote a tournament scheduled for next October.

It marks only the second time an elite five-day tournament will be held outside Japan. The first was in 1991 at the same venue.

Organizers are hoping to whip up the kind of excitement that was generated three decades ago, when the deeply ritualistic sport attracted sell-out crowds and a national television audience.

“It wasn’t just an event here at the hall,’’ said James Ainscough, chief executive of the Royal Albert Hall. “It became a national moment. People talked about it in the workplace. You could see kids acting it out each day in playgrounds the length and breadth of the country. So it’s a huge honor and a huge matter of excitement to welcome it back in 2025.’’

A variety of factors, including a series of sumo wrestling scandals, 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.

Two Netflix series have introduced audiences to the intricacies of the sport, which has roots stretching back 1,500 years. Earlier this year, Hanshin Contents Link opened a sumo hall in Osaka, Japan’s third-largest city, that entertains foreign tourists with explanatory exhibitions and actual