Panels
Take a look at the exciting panel program for the International Sauna Congress 2026. Get ready for the discussions that the global sauna community needs to have!
Global Sauna Culture Panels
Panel discussions are held on stage in Arktiske.
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Friday, 09.30
Sauna is a Finnish word the world has enthusiastically adopted — and increasingly misapplied. For some, it simply means a hot room. For others, it refers specifically to Northern European sweat bathing. And for many Finns, it carries deep historical, cultural and spiritual meaning.
The International Sauna Association defined "sauna" in 1999 as a wooden room with stepped benches, temperatures of 80–105°C, and low humidity briefly raised by infusions. At the same time, "sauna" is being applied to Mexican temazcals, Japanese karafuro, Middle Eastern hammams, infrared cabins, and hot rooms with no stones and no water.
When does it make sense to say "sweat bathing" instead of "sauna"? Why do people use the term “Finnish sauna”, when “sauna” is already a Finnish term? Can the word carry different meanings in Finnish versus English, German or Japanese — and can Finns live with that? And at what point does the International Sauna Association need to change its name or change its direction?
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Friday, 11.30
Can non-profit saunas save the world? At least they’re trying, one sweat drop at the time. Because if sauna is as good for both the individual and society as some claim, shouldn’t the goal of sauna operators be to maximise accessibility rather than profit?
In Norway, operators like Oslo Sauna Association, Bergen Laugarlag and others are taking the lead in creating models where inclusivity and accessibility are at the forefront. In the UK, Community Sauna Baths is spreading their model of accessible sauna from East London throughout the country, using sauna as a tool against social and financial isolation.
What do they contribute to the sauna community, and to society at large, and what are the limitations to their models? Can’t just socially minded commercial businesses contribute in the same way, and what can they learn from the non-profits? And are all contexts fertile grounds for non-profit saunas, or are they harder to set up and run in some countries than in others?
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Friday, 16.00
With the rise of the global sauna boom, the demand for sauna treatments, rituals and experiences is growing exponentially. For many, just “taking sauna” doesn’t seem to be enough, which lays a lot of responsibility on the sauna master or sauna guide.
How can we create sauna rituals and experiences where both group dynamics, the tranquility of “just going to sauna” and the need for guidance and demand for personal wellbeing are incorporated? What should the role of a modern sauna master be? And how can we make sure that they have the knowledge of both sauna culture and traditions, nature’s treasures, the physics of heat and steam, and the workings of the human mind and body to give sauna goers the best possible experience? If sauna is a place where everyone is equal, can’t we all just be each other’s sauna guide?
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Saturday, 09.30
The world order is under threat of collapse. Conflicts, wars and authoritarianism are spreading, while democracy and international cooperation seem to be losing ground. How can sauna contribute to turning the trend around?
In the Viking age, enemies met in the sauna, because it was a space where everyone was naked and weapons weren’t allowed. During the cold war, Finland’s president Urho Kekkonen actively used the sauna in building relationships with the leaders of the Soviet Union. Almost every Finnish embassy around the world still has at least one sauna. Sauna Aid is trying to mobilise the sauna not just as a place for people to heal, but also for adversaries to meet and reconnect through the fundamentally human experience of the sweat ritual.
Is there a space for sauna diplomacy in solving some of today’s global challenges? And how do we get the world leaders into the steam?
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Saturday, 12.00
As sauna becomes increasingly popular, sauna goers are becoming more diverse. And as an enclosed space where heat and steam is challenging our mental and physical capacity, and where strangers meet with little or no clothes on, sauna can feel intimidating and socially challenging for many.
How can we create inclusive saunas where everyone feels welcome? Is inclusivity about creating individual safe spaces for narrowly defined groups, or about spreading the attitude and ethic that all humans are equal and should thus be respected as such in a space shared by everyone? How are debates and changing attitudes about gender and sexuality influencing the sauna community – in countries with strong sauna traditions and in places where sauna is experienced as something new?
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Saturday, 16.00
The world is going through a sauna boom of historic proportions. From urban community sauna villages and bathhouses to nature-based architectural gems in the countryside, people can't seem to get enough. Inspiration flows from countries with deep sauna traditions, and new concepts are emerging everywhere. Investment is booming, and so is the money being made.
But what does it take to sustain a boom? How do we ensure that sauna isn't just a short-lived fad, but stays hot forever? What are the real threats to the sauna movement's sustainability, and what can history teach us about our future?
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Sweating isn’t just happening in the sauna. It has also made it to the big screen. As interest in the roots and impact of sauna blossoms, so does the want and need to try to document it.
From Joonas Berghäll’s Steam of Life (2010), through Mikkel Aaland’s sauna odyssey in Perfect Sweat (2022), a constant flow of new output from Sauna Channel, and most recently the global phenomenon of Hanna Hint’s award-winning Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (2023), a broad audience has gotten insight into sauna and bathing cultures around the world.
What story are these documentaries telling, and what are the creators trying to convey? Is it at all possible to communicate real sauna culture through the lens of a camera? What are the challenges in producing film in a context dominated by heat, steam and nudity? And what stories remain to be told?
Architecture, Technology and Sustainability Panels
Panel discussions are held on stage in Pyramiden.
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Friday, 1030
From Oslo’s harbour to Amsterdam’s canals and the SF Bay Area, floating saunas have become the movement’s postcard and an engine of waterfront life. But behind the idyll lie mooring rights, safety at sea, waste, ice and storms.
When is it a good idea to go for a floating sauna, and when is it better left on land? How do waves and tides influence the sauna experience? And is all the extra hassle and worries of floating saunas really worth it?
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Friday, 12.30
With saunas popping up everywhere, so has their footprint. Durability and sustainability must be fundamental principles serving the long-term interest of both for the operator and the environment. Salt spray, constant public use and hard northern freeze-thaw punish materials, and a sauna that rots in a few years is neither green nor economical. The right wood, detailing and upkeep can mean the difference between decades of service and a costly liability.
Which materials and designs truly stand up to the harshest conditions? How much maintenance is realistic, and who pays? Can durability and beauty coexist?
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Friday, 16.00
The sauna has come a long way from the smoke-filled log hut — today it might be a sculptural landmark on a fjord or a glass-walled rooftop retreat. As sauna becomes a calling card for tourism and city life, designers face an extraordinary brief. But a sauna that photographs beautifully can still bathe badly, fighting the physics of heat or the human need for calm.
Where is sauna design heading? How do architects balance bold form with good löyly and comfort? And as signature saunas become tourist magnets, what might we lose along the way? Meet the architects shaping the sauna of tomorrow.
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Saturday, 09.30
Wherever the sauna boom lands, the maps follow — directories and apps promising every sweat spot in town – or even in the world. They can grow the community and surface hidden gems, but some risk becoming monopoly booking sites that steal profits from sauna operators.
What is a sauna map actually for, and who should maintain it? How do we keep these tools community-minded rather than purely commercial? And can a good map grow the culture without hollowing it out?
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Saturday, 12.30
Every experienced bather has opinions about stones, and rarely do they agree. Peridotite, olivine diabase, vulcanite, gabbro — each has its advocates, and each behaves differently under thermal cycling, in heat retention, in how it fractures and dusts over time, and in the quality of steam it produces. Add the variables of heater type, stacking density and airflow, and the "best" stone becomes a genuinely contested question rather than a settled one.
This panel gets into the specifics: how mineral composition and density affect heat storage and steam, why some stones degrade fast while others last for years, how sourcing and sustainability now factor into the choice, and whether the field's received wisdom actually holds up.
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Saturday, 15.00
For many, the crackle of a wood stove is the very soul of sauna. But as saunas multiply in cities and along regulated waterfronts, wood smoke is under scrutiny — particle emissions, tighter rules, wary neighbours. A new generation of heaters promises cleaner, more efficient burns without losing the magic of the fire.
Can the wood-fired sauna survive stricter air quality rules? What technological leaps have been made to improve energy efficiency and minimize emissions? How clean is clean enough before regulation forces a switch to electric?
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Saturday, 16.00
The sauna has long been a refuge — warm, dim, screen-free. But app-controlled heaters, smart sensors, lighting and sound now promise more control and more spectacle. For some that means a perfectly preheated, effortless sauna; for others, every screen and sensor intrudes on a space that should be analogue and human.
Does technology deepen the experience or distract from it? Which innovations are worth having, and which are gimmicks? Can a high-tech sauna still feel sacred?
Sauna & Health Panels
Panel discussions are held on stage in Langhuset.
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Friday, 12.00
Sauna research is booming, but much of it is tightly controlled lab studies — a long way from the messy, social reality of a real sauna session. This is the classic trade-off between scientific rigour and ecological validity, and both matter.
How well does sauna science reflect how people actually sweat? What is lost when a sauna is recreated in a lab, and what is gained? Where should researchers prioritise rigour, and where real-world validity? Meet the scientists wrestling with the gap between the sauna lab and the sauna life.
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Friday, 16.00
Cold plunges are everywhere, often sold as the essential other half of the sauna ritual. But how much is backed by science and how much is spectacle? Researchers are still untangling whether the benefit comes from the heat, the cold, the contrast between them, or simply the experience itself.
This panel digs into what the research actually shows about heat alone versus hot and cold together, where the science is solid and where we are filling gaps with wishful thinking, and who should be cautious about cold exposure. Meet the researchers cutting through the noise.
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Saturday, 10.30
Anxiety, depression, stress and loneliness are rising, and the systems meant to help are stretched thin. No hot room can fix all that — but many believe the sauna has an underappreciated part to play, both physiologically and as one of the few spaces where strangers slow down, put their phones away and share quiet human presence.
How might sauna support mental health — through the body, through community, or both? What does the research suggest, and where does it run out?
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Saturday, 12.30
As health systems strain under chronic disease, stress and loneliness, interest is growing in social prescribing — and research linking regular sauna use to heart health, stress relief and longevity makes sauna a serious candidate. In Norway, the UK and beyond, pioneers are already testing sauna on prescription.
Could sauna realistically become part of public health policy? What evidence would convince health authorities, and who would pay? And how do we make sure the benefits reach those who need them most? Meet the people working to write sauna into the prescription pad.
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Saturday, 16.00
Every experienced bather has opinions about stones, and rarely do they agree. Peridotite, olivine diabase, vulcanite, gabbro — each has its advocates, and each behaves differently under thermal cycling, in heat retention, in how it fractures and dusts over time, and in the quality of steam it produces. Add the variables of heater type, stacking density and airflow, and the "best" stone becomes a genuinely contested question rather than a settled one.
This panel gets into the specifics: how mineral composition and density affect heat storage and steam, why some stones degrade fast while others last for years, how sourcing and sustainability now factor into the choice, and whether the field's received wisdom actually holds up.