Nordic Stories

Sauna's Biggest Gathering Just Happened in Oslo. Here's Why It Matters for North America.

By
The Northern Voices
Published on
October 3, 2026
More than 550 people from 20 countries met in Oslo for the 19th International Sauna Congress. The North American Sauna Society and Finlandia Foundation National were there as sponsors, and they say the gathering matters more as sauna spreads across North America.
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For three days in late September, Oslo was the center of the sauna world. More than 550 people from at least 20 countries, from Japan and Slovakia to Germany, Ireland, Finland and North America, came to the Norwegian capital for the 19th International Sauna Congress, held every four years by the International Sauna Association.

Two North American organizations were among the sponsors: the North American Sauna Society (NASS) and Finlandia Foundation National (FFN). They shared the sponsor floor with major industry names such as Harvia, Huum and EOS, a sign of how far sauna in the United States and Canada has come from its roots in Finnish immigrant farmyards and mining towns.

The Congress opened at Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, with a performance by Tuva Syvertsen and remarks from Norwegian Sauna Society president Lasse Eriksen and director Stig Arild Petersen, deputy mayor Julianne Ofstad and ISA president Risto Elomaa. That evening, participants were bused to The Well, the largest wellness destination in the Nordics, about 20 minutes outside the city.

A full auditorium at Oslo City Hall, its walls covered in large murals, with a speaker at a lectern beside a projection screen.
The opening of the 19th International Sauna Congress in the main hall of Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. Photo: Minea Lindqvist Herwitz / North American Sauna Society.
Congress participants smiling in a wooden sauna, one with a clay mask on her face.

The next two days moved to Rebel, a late venue change after the original host, SALT, had to close temporarily. Organizers ran programming across five spaces: Sauna & Health, Global Sauna Culture, Architecture, Technology & Sustainability, and Sauna LIVE, where Badstuprat recorded a live podcast and Sauna Channel screened films. Book events at the Skraa Bar featured authors including Lassi Liikkanen and Kaarina Kailo.

Attendees mingling among exhibitor stands and greenery on the ground floor of the Rebel venue.
The Rebel venue's glass-roofed atrium, with people gathered on a balcony above the exhibition floor.
A speaker on a blue-lit stage in the Global Sauna Culture room, addressing a seated audience.
Four panelists seated on stage in the Global Sauna Culture room, one speaking into a microphone.
A full audience facing a panel discussion on a blue-lit stage.
Attendees crowding the exhibition floor at Rebel between sessions.

Among the best-known names in attendance was Mikkel Aaland, author of Sweat (1978) and the newly released Naked Sweat. His book launch was moderated by Minea Lindqvist Herwitz, vice president of the NASS board.

A seated audience filling a room at the Rebel venue, facing two people in conversation on a low stage beside a projection screen.
The launch of Mikkel Aaland's Naked Sweat at Rebel, moderated by NASS vice president Minea Lindqvist Herwitz. Photo: Minea Lindqvist Herwitz / North American Sauna Society.
Minea Lindqvist Herwitz and Mikkel Aaland seated in conversation before an International Sauna Congress backdrop.
Minea Lindqvist Herwitz in conversation with Mikkel Aaland at the launch of Naked Sweat.
Audience members listening during a Congress session.

Oslo now calls itself the floating sauna capital of the world, and the waterfront makes the case. Dozens of floating saunas line the harbor, several just across from the Opera House, as the city has opened its fjord for swimming, walking and bathing. The world's first floating smoke sauna, built by Kimmo Raitio (Sauna Sherpa), made its debut at Pust. The Congress closed with Badstufest, a waterfront celebration with speeches, music and a full sauna village, plus more floating saunas at Sukkerbitten near the Munch Museum.

People sitting and standing together on the Oslo waterfront with food and drinks, among festival stalls and a sauna village.
Badstufest, the closing celebration, on the Oslo waterfront. Photo: Minea Lindqvist Herwitz / North American Sauna Society.
People seated around an open fire in the waterfront sauna village, with the Oslo harbor behind them.
A weathered timber sauna on the waterfront, with the Oslo Opera House across the water.
Bathers in swimsuits and sauna hats sitting together on the benches of a wooden sauna.
Two bathers outside a small turf-roofed timber sauna on the waterfront.

Why it matters on this side of the Atlantic

Sauna is spreading quickly across North America, from backyard builds to urban bathhouses and commercial wellness chains. For the organizations that see themselves as stewards of the tradition, that growth is the reason gatherings like Oslo matter: they are where standards are discussed, relationships are built and the cultural roots of the practice are kept in view.

A group posing on stage, two of them holding up a sauna banner.
Three attendees posing in front of the International Sauna Congress backdrop.

“Sauna is at its core magical,” said Lindqvist Herwitz, who is also communications director of Finlandia Foundation National. “It has a primal element to it — gathering around the fire and being transformed. It is a wellness practice with huge implications for the larger world. It can heal individuals, and through individuals, it can heal societies. We are committed to making sure it spreads properly and remains a healthy practice — for people and for the industry.”

A large group of Congress participants posing together on a wide staircase.
Congress participants posing together on a wide staircase, many raising a hand to wave.

The next Congress is four years away. NASS and FFN say they are bringing the conversation home in the meantime.

Photos: Minea Lindqvist Herwitz / North American Sauna Society.

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