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Few sports can captivate an audience through 45 minutes of ceremony before the initial score is even contested.

Yet the complex rituals unfolding in a compact earthen circle - mostly preserved for hundreds of years - managed to do just that.

Experience the Prestigious Rikishi Event

This multi-day tournament at the historic concert hall features numerous elite sumo wrestlers showcasing a sport whose earliest records dates back to ancient times.

London's Victorian concert venue has been utterly transformed, complete with a elaborate suspended canopy hanging above the ring.

Ancient Traditions Meet Contemporary Displays

It is here the athletes, known as sumo professionals, perform their shiko exercises to banish dark forces, and where they strike their hands to get the attention of the divine beings.

Above all this historical practice, a giant, revolving LED screen - which wouldn't look out of place at an American basketball game - offers the audience all the statistics and footage they could want.

Worldwide Followers Embrace Sumo

For an enthusiastic follower, it was a "unexpected footage" that first captivated her a couple of years ago.

This was soon supplemented with the discovery of focused video platforms for sumo stables, where wrestlers live and train, rising before dawn to work out, followed by a nutritious chankonabe and then an midday rest - all in the pursuit of increasing mass.

Hailing from Scotland, Alternative View

Different enthusiasts discovered sumo through a conventional method: a trip to Japan six years ago.

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

"From there on, we tried to locate groups, resources, just to expand our knowledge about it," adds Cezar.

Unique Chance

Going to Japan is generally the primary approach to see a elite competition.

This current tournament marks only the second occasion the tournament has appeared in the capital - the first time was in 1991.

Even visiting the country isn't certain of obtaining admission, with recent years seeing completely booked tournaments.

Live Observation

For many attendees, the London tournament represents the premier chance they have experienced the sport directly - and it exceeds expectations.

"Seeing it up close, you get a feeling of velocity and the power which you don't get on TV," says Caspar Eliot. "They are so big."

The Competition

To win the match, one wrestler needs to push another from the dohyō or to the floor using raw power.

The most use one of pair of techniques to accomplish this, often in instantaneous actions - thrusting, or grappling.

Either way, the sound of the two athletes meeting in the initial contact of the match echoes around the hall.

Prime Locations

The seats right next to the ring are of course greatly valued - but also, a bit risky.

During one particular match, a tall wrestler tumbled into the crowd - perhaps making those in less expensive positions experience comfort.

Organizational Issues

Of course, the size of the wrestlers is one of the primary elements most people think of when they consider the sport.

The venue's management revealed they "needed to find and acquire reinforced furniture which can support 200kg in weight."

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

Potential Issues

Perhaps the demanding existence of a sumo wrestler doesn't look as attractive as it once might have.

Its appeal among the younger generation is also being competed with by different athletic pursuits, while Japan's declining population will not help.

Worldwide Following

Not that any of this has concerned enthusiasts in London.

"Witnessing these ritual and ceremony that goes with sumo is especially significant," one enthusiast notes. "Today, watching it live, you feel like you are more part of it."

For other committed supporters, the intensity "made it so incredible" - as did meeting the other fans.

"Emerging from a particularly focused online community and being able to witness multiple sumo fans directly and being able to chat with other people who are just as into this as we are - it was absolutely worthwhile."