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Few sports can captivate an audience through three-quarters of an hour of ceremony before the opening contest is even determined.

Yet the detailed ceremonies unfolding in a small clay ring - largely unaltered for hundreds of years - accomplished exactly that.

Welcome to the Major Sumo Competition

This five-day event at the historic concert hall features four dozen top-tier sumo athletes showcasing a sport whose first mention dates back to 23BC.

London's historic performance space has been totally redesigned, complete with a six-tonne Japanese temple roof hanging above the competition area.

Time-Honored Rituals Meet Modern Technology

It is here the competitors, known as rikishi, perform their shiko exercises to expel dark forces, and where they applaud to attract the divine beings.

Above all this traditional ritual, a massive rotating display - that appears natural at an NBA match - offers the audience all the data and video they could want.

Global Fans Find Sumo

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

This was rapidly enhanced by the discovery of focused video platforms for rikishi houses, where athletes reside and practice, rising before dawn to work out, followed by a nutritious chankonabe and then an midday rest - all in the pursuit of bulking up.

Hailing from Scotland, Different Experience

Julia and her partner Cezar discovered sumo through a conventional method: a journey to Asia six years ago.

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

"Subsequently, we tried to locate groups, information, just to expand our knowledge about it," adds Cezar.

Unique Chance

Going to Japan is typically the sole method to see a top-flight sumo tournament.

This current tournament marks only the second occasion the tournament has visited the city - the first time was in the early nineties.

Even visiting the country isn't a guarantee of getting a seat, with recent years seeing completely booked tournaments.

In-Person Viewing

For multiple fans, the London tournament represents the initial opportunity they have experienced the sport directly - and it exceeds expectations.

"Observing directly, you get a understanding of quickness and the power which you can't experience on TV," says Caspar Eliot. "Their size is impressive."

The Matches

To win the match, one competitor needs to move the other man off the clay or to the floor using physical force.

The primary group use one of two styles to achieve this, often in instantaneous actions - shoving, or grappling.

Either way, the noise of the two athletes meeting in the initial contact of the match reverberates around the venue.

Prime Locations

The seats right next to the competition area are of course highly prized - but also, somewhat dangerous.

During one specific contest, a large wrestler went plummeting into the crowd - perhaps making those in slightly cheaper seats experience comfort.

Internal Challenges

Of course, the size of the athletes is one of the initial aspects most people think of when they consider the sport.

The facility's operators revealed they "were required to locate and buy new chairs which can withstand 200kg in weight."

But sumo - for all its popular tournaments - is not without its troubles behind the scenes.

Future Challenges

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

Its following among young Japanese is also being competed with by alternative competitions, while Japan's declining population will present additional challenges.

Global Community

Not that any of this has worried fans in London.

"Witnessing these ritual and ceremony that accompanies sumo is particularly meaningful," an attendee explains. "Today, watching it directly, you feel like you are more engaged."

For other enthusiastic fans, the intensity "produced unforgettable moments" - as did encountering the fellow enthusiasts.

"Leaving a particularly focused online community and being able to observe numerous sumo fans live and being able to converse with other people who are equally passionate as we are - it was worth every penny."