The Grand Sumo Tournament

What do Tokyo and London have in common? As well as both being sprawling metropolises, and world-class centres for fashion, food and technology, they’ve also both hosted the Grand Sumo Tournament. In fact, London is the only place outside of Japan to ever host a professional sumo wrestling competition, at the Royal Albert Hall in 1991. Staging the competition was no mean feat, with a strengthened stage having to be built to hold the wrestlers’ weight, and specialist soil imported to the UK to create the wrestling ring.  Kensington’s 153-year-old Italianate music hall must have done a pretty decent job as hosts, though, because it is also due to host the second-ever overseas Grand Sumo Tournament in autumn 2025. More than 40 of Japan’s top sumo wrestlers will be competing in the London arena across five days in October, with tickets due on sale in spring. It’s an incredibly rare opportunity to see Japan’s famous, 1500-year-old sport up close without having to hop on a plane, and we absolutely can’t wait.