Sumo to visit London for first overseas event in 20 years

Sumo will stage a tournament outside Japan for the first time in 20 years when the sport’s top wrestlers lock horns at London’s Royal Albert Hall next October.

A special ring will be constructed at the historic venue with carefully selected dirt for a five-day event marking the Japan Sumo Association’s centenary.

The last overseas tournament organised by the JSA was in Las Vegas in 2005.

It will be the second time that the Royal Albert Hall in the heart of London has welcomed the ancient Japanese sport.

An event in 1991 was held in front of sell-out crowds and was won by Hokutoumi, who is now the JSA’s president and goes by the name Hakkaku.

The 153-year-old Royal Albert Hall had to be specially adapted to withstand the impact of the wrestlers as they battled it out.

“It was extremely exciting and the public was very enthusiastic,” Hakkaku, who held sumo’s highest rank of yokozuna as a wrestler, told ITV News on Wednesday.

“There was a lot of cheers and clapping.”

Sumo has held events in several cities around the world since it first visited the USSR in 1965.

The Royal Albert Hall has previously hosted boxing and professional wrestling.

The venue’s chief executive James Ainscough said the return of sumo would be “a moment where we can all grow closer together”.

“In this divided world, when two countries join together, it’s always a pleasure,” he told reporters.

More than 40 wrestlers are expected to compete.

Wrestler Kitanowaka told reporters that he would try to follow in Hakkaku’s footsteps by lifting the trophy.

“If I get the chance to compete I will definitely do my best to win the title,” he said.