Together with the City of Helsinki, Visitsauna.com and Saunat.fi will organise a unique sauna event at Töölönlahti 16–17 May, bringing together Eurovision fans and sauna enthusiasts. This celebration of song, sauna heat and community is also a great warm-up for the largest music event of the world, the Eurovision Song Contest.
“Helsinki SAUNAVISION is an ode to the Finnish sauna tradition and proof for how sauna can also be at the heart of modern international urban culture,” says event organiser and sauna entrepreneur Tea Lindberg, the brains behind the SAUNAVISION event.
The event will take over the renewed Töölönlahti Park, which the residents have praised for its saunas. Helsinki SAUNAVISION will be the first large-scale event held at the renovated park.
“The Helsinki SAUNAVISION is a unique event bringing the heat of Eurovision and saunas to the renovated Töölönlahti Park. This unique sauna event will strengthen the vitality of Helsinki and offer interesting experiences to both city residents and visitors. Helsinki is the capital city of the happiest country in the world, and our wonderful, characterful saunas and our different ways of sauna bathing are one empowering source for our happiness. You are all welcome to the Eurovision pre-party! Let’s cheer together for the fun and energetic Eurovision representatives of both Finland and Sweden and wish them success!” says Unit Manager Sanna Forsström from the City of Helsinki’s Brand and Events Unit.
More than a thousand sauna visitors expected to try out the different saunas
The event is built around saunas and the Finnish sauna culture: Different types of saunas will be brought to Töölönlahti, where visitors can enjoy the heat, accompanied by Eurovision songs.
“Helsinki SAUNAVISION showcases the sauna traditions, but also adds a dash of authentic Finnish madness.
Visitors can enjoy the heat of a container sauna, a barrel sauna or a phone booth sauna, for example. There will be at least around ten different saunas available at the location,” Lindberg says.
“A DJ will play Eurovision classics and the top ESC hits of the year at the centre of the sauna village. Other Eurovision-themed programme is also being planned,” Lindberg reveals. The programme will also feature sauna whisk workshops and traditional sauna whisk ceremonies.
Up to a thousand visitors are expected at Töölönlahti.
Sauna visitors can find more details on the event page, where they can also book a spot on the sauna benches in advance. Some of the spots will be filled in on the site, in the order of arrival.
The saunas will be warm on Saturday 17 May, at 10.00–19.00.
Sauna is for everyone – all are made equal on the sauna benches
The open, free event welcomes everyone to experience the authentic spirit of Finnish sauna and to cheer for their favourite Eurovision act.
“We wish to prove that sauna belongs to everyone and that all are made equal in a sauna. Titles and hierarchies are left behind in the dressing room. Through the support organisations of unhoused people, we will extend an invitation to the saunas on Friday for those among us who have a limited access to saunas,” Lindberg says.
Lindberg sees that Eurovision and the Finnish sauna culture have plenty in common.
“The Eurovision Song Contest and sauna share the same core: they bring people together regardless of borders. Now, more than ever, we need a sense of community and encounters with others. The health benefits and strong sense of community involved in sauna bathing are proven to treat both the body and the mind.”
Finnish sauna on the rise also abroad
Thanks to Eurovision, sauna has brought people – especially Europeans – together in an unprecedented way this year. Finnish sauna and the culture around it are garnering more and more interest also outside Europe.
Helsinki SAUNAVISION is also expected to attract international media attention.
Lindberg and her team and the City of Helsinki see Helsinki SAUNAVISION as a tribute to Finnish sauna culture, but also as a part of the work for importing it abroad.
“A Finnish sauna and its soft heat offer a welcome counter-effect to the hectic nature of the modern world. This is why sauna deserves its place on the map of Europe and the whole world. It's not just a Finnish speciality, but an experience everyone can enjoy.”