Sumo - I Attended the London Basho 2025
Yeah! I was there on Sunday, the final day of the 5-day tournament.
Planning for it was a bit of a pain, because it was announced well in advance of tickets going on sale and there was already a bit of hype, so it was a real "refreshing the page" situation to guarantee seats.
I prebooked travel and accommodation, figuring that my partner and I would enjoy 5 days in London regardless of getting seats, and this made the whole thing a lot less stressful.
I didn't get any particularly good pictures as I was up in the circle, but made it easy for me to keep my phone in my pocket and just focus on the event - which was really fantastic! If you want nice photos, I highly recommend this Guardian Photo Essay covering the whole week from which I nabbed the header.
The Venue
The Royal Albert Hall is where the previous such event took place in 1991 - it's a really nice choice for a thing like this. Something that doesn't come across super well when watching broadcasts of sumo is the sound - two 150kg dudes slamming at top strength makes a hell of a noise, and there were moments when the Albert Hall's tremendous acoustics made the whole crowd go "oof" in response.
It also meant the wooden block clacks and Japanese name announcements carried nicely. It's a bit of a running joke in the western online community that the yobidashi Rikinojo has an annoyingly nasal high-pitched announcing voice, but in person he sounds awesome - really crisp.
It's also just generally hard to overstate how lovely a place it is to be. The views are excellent and the verticality of the place makes for this weird constant sense of spectacle.
The Wrestling
When I put on the broadcast for the first day, the very first match was so perfectly varied in style and so back and forth that I immediately recognised that this was an exhibition tournament - that is, the goal is to win, but alongside that is the dual priorities of entertainment and safety. The JSA doesn't want wrestlers being stretchered off or otherwise making the sport look bad. I also noticed that wrestlers who regularly wear supportive equipment (like Ura with his ubiquitous knee braces) were mostly without them.
So clearly we're not going to get full-blooded no-holding-back sumo. That's honestly fine with me - these guys operating at 80% is still a fantastic spectacle, and I honestly agree that it's better that they stay fit and get to enjoy their visit as much as they entertain us.
Also, by the final day when I was there, the important matches were being fought as fiercely as any - anyone on a 0-4 record was really pushing, Takayasu's defence against Tobizaru going 5-0 was as fierce as I've seen him, and the finale was legit Y-vs-Y stuff, if a bit quick.
Highlight of the day for me was either Hitoshi attempting an extremely ambitious fisherman throw on the 170kg Mitakeumi, or Aonishiki nailing a kainahineri - another rare technique from the Ukrainian - against Ura.
The Ceremonies and other Supporting Pieces
It was honestly so nice seeing Hiro Morita doing his thing on this stage - every day started with the same basic script, introducing the sport and various importance concepts to audience members who may have never watched a single bout. Each time Hiro messed about and did his own thing in some little way. He's just a real asset to the JSA and I'm glad to see him centre-stage for an event I genuinely don't think would have happened without his online presence as an approachable gateway to the sport.
The various drumming demonstrations and other ceremonies were all done as if it were a full basho, and the scheduling was mercifully more brisk than a normal tournament - 20 matches in about 70-80 minutes of active time, rather than the usual 100 or so.
The various awards made sense, but I felt a little bad for Aonishiki - he got outshone by Ura in both of the categories where he really shines - Technique and Popularity. I think Ura's day 3 tzutaezori clinched both.
Closing Thoughts
My biggest worry about this even was that 6 months after organising and booking it my enthusiasm for Sumo would have waned - it hasn't at all, and after attending I'm extremely excited for the November basho one year after the one that got me into the sport in the first place.
I'd say if you're ever in Japan during a basho it's worth attending, and if you're in or near Paris for next year's event I'd strongly recommend getting tickets. I'll probably miss that one as I have a lot of travel planned in 2026, but it's such a unique and fun experience I really want to do it again.
I went for cheaper distant seats this time and can't fault them in the Albert Hall, but if I do go again I'll want to be as close as I can afford - those cushions are calling to me.