LONDON (AP) — London’s Royal Albert Hall, the gilded concert hall known for its annual “Rule Britannia” sing-along, is preparing to host a different kind of spectacle: Sumo wrestling.


Camera shutters clicked furiously and reporters “ahhed” with delight Wednesday as wrestlers Daisuke Kitanowaka and Akira Fukutsuumi demonstrated a side punch and put on an exhibition of heavyweight wrestling to promote a tournament scheduled for October next year.


It is only the second time that a five-day elite tournament has been held outside Japan. The first was in 1991 at the same location.


Organizers hope to generate the kind of excitement created three decades ago, when the deeply ritualistic sport drew sellout crowds and a national television audience.


“It wasn’t just an event here in the hall,” said James Ainscough, CEO of the Royal Albert Hall. “It became a national moment. It was talked about on the work floor. You could see children reenacting it every day in playgrounds across the country. So it’s a huge honor and a huge 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 moment.


Two Netflix series have introduced audiences to the intricacies of the sport, which dates back 1,500 years. Earlier this year, Hanshin Contents Link opened a sumo hall in Osaka, Japan’s third-largest city, entertaining foreign tourists with explanatory exhibits and factual fights.


Organizers of the London event say they hope to showcase Japan’s rich culture as well as the traditional sport, which pits two large men wearing very little clothing against each other in a test of strength and technique.


In attendance on Wednesday was the winner of the previous British tournament, Nobuyoshi Hakkaku, nicknamed ‘bulldog’ by British fans in 1991. Now chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, he reminisced about how the only thing that really made him nervous was the preparing for a victory speech in English.


Japan’s ambassador to Britain, Hiroshi Suzuki, was also in attendance, reflecting the importance of the event to the nation. Organizers promised that spectators would also see exhibitions of Kabuki theater and other Japanese traditions.


But the main attraction was the wrestlers.


Kitanowaka and Fukutsuumi tried valiantly to showcase their sport. Dressed in their mawashi, or ceremonial aprons, they stood on a mat in front of several dozen journalists. The big men crashed into each other with an “oomph” as flesh hit flesh. A few growls broke the silence.


There was no sweat. It was over in an instant.


Then they went outside, dropping their robes and exposing their bodies to the icy November air as they entered and exited a classic London black taxi for photographers.


Nothing seemed to bother them. Not the cold. Not the requirements to stand this way or that way. As the concert hall loomed behind them, they did their best to be sumo diplomats.


“Sumo has a wonderfully intriguing collection of culture, ritual, sport and excitement,” Ainscough said. “And bringing sumo back to the Royal Albert Hall doesn’t just create a sporting moment, it creates a moment where we can learn and be inspired by a different culture and a different set of principles to live by. It is a moment when we can all grow closer together. ”


Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.





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