Entertainment
Grand Sumo Tournament comes to London for the second time outside Japan in the sport’s 1,500-year history
London — The world of professional sumo wrestling stepped outside of Japan for only the second time in its centuries-long history on Wednesday night, as fighters clashed on a specially constructed ring in the middle of London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The iconic venue in the British capital is hosting the Grand Sumo Tournament —the roughly 1,500-year-old sport’s most important competition — for the second time, drawing more than 44 professional wrestlers, or Rikishi, to compete in 100 bouts over five days. The only other time the tournament was held outside Japan was in 1991, when it also came to the Royal Albert Hall.
There are unique challenges in bringing sumo to London, as the contemporary national sport of Japan is rooted in two millennia of tradition, interwoven with the Shinto religion, and thus treated with the utmost respect and protection to ensure adherence to its rituals and norms.
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“One of the things that we’ve worked really hard at is to make sure that we have a good understanding of the cultural and religious significance that sumo has,” Matthew Todd, the Royal Albert Hall’s programming director, told CBS News.
He said attention to detail was “really critical to the authentic presentation that we’re able to make here.”
That meant shipping 11 tons of clay from Japan to construct the ring, or dohyo, in the center of the concert venue, where the wrestlers compete. Shipping containers were at sea for three months making the voyage. A big team of ring attendants (yobisdashi), also had to make the trip from Japan — alongside 11 interpreters to help them communicate with British workers.
Ryan Pierse / Getty Images 
The roof for the dohyo, now suspended from the Albert Hall ceiling, was built in Britain, but its design is taken straight from traditional Japanese Shinto shrines, which, according to Todd, “helps to show that this is a sacred area,” in which routines and holy ceremonies are conducted as part of the tournament.
It’s a vital step, he said, to ensure the Shinto gods are paid their due respects before the fights.
Sumo is deeply intertwined with Japanese culture and religion in ways that many Western sports fans may find difficult to comprehend. According to legend, it originated as a ritual to ask the gods for a bountiful harvest, but it transformed over almost 2,000 years into the sport it is today, drawing competitors still primarily from Japan, but also from around the world.
Many of the most recent champions have been from Mongolia, and this year’s tournament features two rishiki from Ukraine. While Americans have competed successfully in past tournaments, there are no U.S. rishiki competing in this year’s event in London.
Jordan Pettitt/PA Images/Getty 
The nuance of the wrestling competition itself can also be difficult to fully grasp, with 82 winning techniques called kimirate, numerous ranks and divisions and a host of other rules. So to help translate all this for a largely Western audience, in-ear English language commentary is provided at the Royal Albert Hall, alongside video replay screens to describe and explain the bouts, which can sometimes end in just seconds when a competitor is forced out of the ring.
The wrestlers themselves live an incredibly regimented life. They are forbidden from driving cars and, somewhat counterintuitively, eating breakfast, and are normally required to take a long nap after their hefty lunch, to help them pack on the pounds.
The average weight of a rikishi is about 330 pounds, but some tip the scales at 550.
Jordan Pettitt/PA Images/Getty 
They have been given some leave during their visit to the British capital to enjoy themselves, however — with organizers likely seeing the value in some degree of publicity.
During the lead-up to the tournament, social media platforms were full of photos and videos of the traditionally kimono-clad wrestlers sightseeing around London.
The Albert Hall will also be graced this week by the presence of two yokozuna, the highest ranking of all sumo wrestlers. The word yokozuna is generally translated as grand champion, but it translates literally to “horizontal rope,” in a reference to the special rope worn around their waists to display their rank.
Krisztian Elek/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty 
Once a rishiki is promoted to the rank of yokozuna, they keep it until retirement. In nearly 400 years of professional sumo, only 75 men have attained the vaunted grand champion status. The honor typically requires not only multiple consecutive championship wins, but approval by a dedicated council that judges rishiki on their wrestling skills, but also a range of other personal attributes.
The tournament is due to end on Sunday, when the wrestler with the most victories in the ring will be crowned this year’s champion.
The field is considered wide open this year, but many, especially back at home in Japan, will be hoping for 25-year-old Yokozuna Onasato, the country’s first grand champion in almost a decade, to emerge victorious.
Tech billionaire and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has expressed concerns about the H-1B visa programme, stating that it is being “gamed” by select outsourcing firms in the US.
The tech tycoon emphasised that authorities should address the misuse of the H-1B visa system rather than dismantling it entirely.
What is H-1B visa?
H-1B visas allow U.S. companies to hire skilled foreign workers, and are mostly used by Indian citizens, particularly in the technology and healthcare sectors.
During a recent podcast with Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Musk highlighted that America has “long benefitted” from the contributions of talented Indian migrant workers, while acknowledging the issues around the “misuse” of the H-1B programme.
Manipulation in H-1B visa lottery system
Outsourcing firms have faced backlash for manipulating the lottery system, including submitting multiple applications for the same worker and hiring low-cost contract employees instead of filling speciality roles, BBC reported.
Musk firmly stated, “We need to stop the gaming of the system,” but he disagreed with those advocating for the complete shutdown of the H-1B system, arguing that such a move would be detrimental to the U.S. economy.
Recent data from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) indicates that approvals for H-1B visas from Indian outsourcing companies have dropped to their lowest level in a decade, with a significant decline in initial employment petitions.
Besides H-1B visas, Musk also commented on former President Trump’s tariff policies, which he believes distort markets, noting that negotiations for a trade deal between the U.S. and India are ongoing, with an agreement expected by year-end.
Duchess of Edinburgh was reportedly left in a state of shock as she witnessed a painful accident, nearly breaking royal protocol as it happened.
The 60-year-old royal, who has earned a prominent position with King Charles as his ‘secret weapon’ for the monarchy, has been dragged in an unfortunate court case about an 81-year-old woman, who lost her life in 2023.
A woman named Helen Holland had been crossing the street at Old Bailey when she was hit by the speeding officer, PC Christopher Harrison, part of the motorcycle convoy that was escorting Sophie as she left the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
The officer was given a ‘not guilty’ verdict which garnered an emotional reaction from Helen’s family. One of the family members had yelled, “You ruined our family with no consequences.”
Prince Edward’s wife has remained quiet amid the legal process. She had only released a statement at the time to express her sympathies with the family. She could not comment further due to the ongoing court case.
In a new report by DailyMail, never-before-shared details about Sophie’s reaction were shared in which she nearly broke the protocol for the pedestrian.
For the first time they have detailed the horrific injuries Helen sustained during what Harrison described in court as “a tragic accident”. They also shared that in moments after the collision, the Duchess of Edinburgh tried to leave her vehicle to rush towards Helen.
Meanwhile, Helen’s son Martin and her daughter-in-law, Lisa, are pursuing another legal action not for any compensation but to prove that the beloved great-grandmother “did nothing wrong”.
Duchess of Edinburgh statement via Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace released a short statement on Duchess Sophie’s behalf in May 2023.
“The Duchess’s heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family,” it read.
“She is grateful for the swift response by the emergency services and will keep abreast of developments. Further comment at this time would not be appropriate while the incident is being investigated.”
Sadie Sink has opened about her character Max Mayfield in the Stranger Things new season.
In season 4, Max was left in coma after a psychic encounter with Vecna. The first volume of the fifth season has shown that her consciousness is trapped in the upside down.
While talking about her character, Sink said that there always has been something that anchored her to the role like the environment, the bands, the skateboard or the clothes.
“But this season, there was nothing. It was clothes that didn’t feel like Max, crazy hair that was grown out and tangled, and dirt all over my face”, she told The Hollywood Reporter.
She continued, “She’s in a rough, feral state. It was pretty bizarre. It was weird to feel like Max and then look like that and be in that environment.
Stranger things 5 the first volume depicts how Max’s fate has been kept a mystery after Holly Wheeler is taken by Vecna and she crosses paths with a young girl.
Responding to her character’s fate, Sadie added that “Max is a really caring person” and accepts Holly as an ally instead of seeing her as just a small girl.
The Spider-Man actress said, “I feel like we’ve left it all out on the table, and it’s at a good closing point, but I don’t know. I could do it again. Because I love that set so much, and I love the character.”
Stranger Things 5 second volume is set to premiere on December 25.
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