Sumo wrestling is coming to Calgary at Sumo Fest 2026, where four athletes will demonstrate their craft at three shows in the Nutrien Western Event Centre March 13 and 14. Promoters are billing the event as Canada’s first-ever Sumo Festival. “The last time that sumo’s have been in Canada (was) certainly not within my lifetime,” said Lucas McCarthy, Showpass CEO. “So I get excited that we’re responsible for chasing that down, bringing them here and making such a community and cultural impact as the promoter.” McCarthy admits that he didn’t know much about sumo when his team brought up the possibility of a festival but is looking forward to seeing some of the best sumo wrestlers in the world. “One of the most exciting things about the athletes that we’ve brought in for this is these are folks that have been doing this their whole lives,” he said. “We’ve got world champions and some of these guys came directly from Japan and they have never been here before.” Sumo Fest 2026 is supported by the city of Calgary and produced in partnership with the Calgary Japanese Community Association (CJCA) along with Showpass. Cultural destination Susan Matsumoto is CJCA’s president and says the Nutrien facility will be transformed into a vibrant cultural destination featuring a world-class sumo competition inside a traditionally inspired ring known as a dohyō. “It’s a simple demonstration, not a tournament and we wanted to make it a more immersive experience,” she said. “So we’re having a marketplace that features food vendors, marketplace, merchandise for sale and we’ll also have some Japanese cultural events as part of this.” Winning events Ramy El-Gammal is a sumo wrestler who grew up in Egypt and now lives in the U.S. He says he loves all martial arts and began competing in judo when he was young. Then he turned to sumo and began winning events. “In 2013 they asked me if I wanted to compete in international competitions so I go compete,” he said. “I got first place in this competition and gold medal and I got the best player in this competition too for first time. “Now here I am in Canada for the first time at all,” he added, “in (a) Canadian sumo show.” The 40-year-old is a big man but he insists that quickness is key to sumo. “I feel like you don’t need to be really big to fight in sumo,” he said. “You can win if you have the technique, if you have the balance, if you have the speed. “We have the competition,” he added. “Inside the ring we are not friends, (but) outside? OK -- we can eat and drink together.” Sumo Fest 2026 will host three shows, one on Friday evening, March 13th and two shows March 14h.
