More details about the upcoming sumo expedition to London have emerged, and we must again credit our friends at Inside Sport: Japan for the up-to-the-minute coverage across multiple media formats.

Together with London’s Royal Albert Hall, the Kyokai has announced a koen to take place at the famous venue over the 15th-19th of October, 2025.

Tickets will go on sale for the event in “early 2025,” according to the Royal Albert Hall itself. Click here to follow the ticket page for the latest ticket information and to sign up for ticket notifications.

Royal Albert Hall has issued a warning on its site that only tickets purchased directly from the venue or its approved agents (including its resale partner, Twickets) are valid. Curiously, following in the wake of this year’s Ticketmaster fracas in the UK after the launch of the Oasis reunion tickets, the RAH has also shared on its page that:

Ticket prices are adjusted based on demand. We carefully monitor demand and adjust on a daily basis. We do not change prices during an on-sale.

To editorialise, I’m not sure that statement makes a ton of sense, given that the tickets will presumably be on sale from the original on-sale date until they sell out, and prospective ticket buyers will certainly be coming from multiple time zones. In any case, it seems that dynamic pricing will be in play. With the Kyokai only visiting London once every few decades or so, they can of course allow the ticketing partner to take the brunt of any blowback from fans. It will be intriguing to see how the tickets are eventually priced, given that dynamic ticketing has been a massively unpopular – and certainly unfriendly – development with average consumers in a market that already has extremely high tourism costs.

As ISJ points out on its socials, and other punters have already speculated in a lengthy thread on SumoForum, misinformation may continue to occur in the lead up to the event (some of which has apparently been propagated by the venue itself). And of course, weary longtime fans should expect a flurry of well-meaning but incomplete analysis and coverage from Western media. However, we certainly welcome all newcomers to the sport to participate in the conversation!

We would also like to follow the esteemed outlet’s lead by reiterating that based on all available information, the October trip would not be an official basho. But it may well be a fun time, and we encourage readers to share their stories of any attempts to acquire tickets or attend the event with us, as preparations get closer in the new year.