With an eye toward growing a sport that's already seeing an influx of foreign fans, the Japan Sumo Association will hold a tournament next year at London's Royal Albert Hall.

To be as true to tradition as possible, the venerable concert hall will build a raised clay dohyō in the center of the auditorium to host the event, with spectators sitting around it on cushions and, further back, on chairs.

"We'll experience not just the sport, but the tradition and the ritual and the culture of sumo," said James Ainscough, chief executive of the Royal Albert Hall.