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Only a handful of competitions can captivate an audience through three-quarters of an hour of ritual before the opening contest is even contested.

Yet the detailed ceremonies unfolding in a compact earthen circle - virtually unchanged for hundreds of years - accomplished exactly that.

Discover the Prestigious Rikishi Event

This five-day event at the historic concert hall features four dozen top-tier rikishi showcasing a sport whose earliest records dates back to the first century BC.

London's renowned auditorium has been totally redesigned, complete with a elaborate suspended canopy hanging above the competition area.

Time-Honored Rituals Meet Current Innovations

It is here the wrestlers, known as sumo wrestlers, perform their shiko exercises to drive away negative energies, and where they applaud to summon the deities.

Above all this ancient ceremony, a enormous circular monitor - that would fit perfectly at an American basketball game - offers the spectators all the stats and replays they could want.

International Enthusiasts Find Sumo

For one dedicated fan, it was a "unexpected footage" that first caught her attention a couple of years ago.

This was soon supplemented with the discovery of dedicated YouTube channels for rikishi houses, where wrestlers live and train, rising before dawn to train, followed by a high protein stew and then an daytime sleep - all in the service of increasing mass.

From Edinburgh, Different Experience

Another couple discovered sumo through a established path: a journey to Asia six years ago.

"We approached it as a common sightseeing event, but we actually developed passion for the sport," notes the enthusiast.

"Subsequently, we tried to discover networks, resources, just to learn more about it," adds Cezar.

Special Event

Visiting the homeland is typically the sole method to see a top-flight sumo tournament.

This week's event marks only the second time the tournament has come to London - the first time was in over three decades ago.

Even traveling to Asia doesn't ensure of obtaining admission, with the past period seeing sold-out events.

First-Hand Experience

For many attendees, the UK competition represents the initial opportunity they have seen live sumo - and it exceeds expectations.

"Seeing it up close, you get a feeling of velocity and the strength which you don't get on TV," says Caspar Eliot. "Their stature is remarkable."

The Competition

To win the match, one rikishi needs to force his opponent out of the ring or to the surface using physical force.

The most use one of two styles to accomplish this, often in split seconds - shoving, or clenching.

Either way, the sound of the two rikishi crashing together in the opening second of the match reverberates around the venue.

Prime Locations

The positions right next to the ring are of course extremely sought-after - but also, a bit risky.

During one specific contest, a tall wrestler went plummeting into the audience - perhaps making those in less expensive positions feel relieved.

Internal Challenges

Of course, the dimensions of the wrestlers is one of the initial aspects most people think of when they contemplate wrestling.

The venue's management revealed they "were required to locate and acquire reinforced furniture which can take up to 200kg in weight."

But sumo - for all its successful competitions - is not without its difficulties behind the scenes.

Potential Issues

Perhaps the strict life of a rikishi doesn't look as attractive as it once might have.

Its following among young Japanese is also being challenged by different athletic pursuits, while Japan's falling birthrate will present additional challenges.

Worldwide Following

Not that any of this has concerned enthusiasts in London.

"Witnessing these ritual and ceremony that is part of sumo is especially significant," an attendee explains. "Today, watching it directly, you experience being you are more part of it."

For other dedicated followers, the intensity "made it so incredible" - as did encountering the fellow enthusiasts.

"Leaving a highly specialized online community and being able to observe numerous sumo fans directly and being able to speak to other people who are just as into this as we are - it was worth every penny."