Oulu2026 Sauna serves as the flagship of the sauna discussion festival, bringing together heat, tradition, and dialogue on the banks of the Emajõgi River in Tartu.
The Naked Truth sauna discussion festival is being held for the second time this Friday and Saturday in Tartu as a Finnish-Estonian collaboration. The Oulu2026 Sauna, built by the Oulu Sauna Association, is making the journey to the banks of the Emajõgi River.
The Naked Truth event combines sauna bathing with open discussions – a concept believed to be unique in the world, even though saunas have always been places for deep conversations.
“Sauna is known as the poor man’s doctor, but it also heals democracy. The discussion culture in the sauna is friendly, equal, and respectful. Sauna shows us a way to save public discourse,” says the event’s executive producer, Hannele Valkeeniemi, Director of the Finnish Institute in Estonia.
Nine saunas will be set up along the beach by the Emajõgi River for the event. A new round of discussions begins every hour, each lasting about 20–30 minutes, followed by a cooling-off break. The themes for the discussions are rohe (environment), rehe (traditions), and rahu (peace).
At the Oulu2026 Sauna, the discussion on the theme of peace will be opened by the association’s producer Katri Tenetz, together with the sauna’s designers and builders: designer Jussi Pöllä and engineer Marko Asell.
Tartu was the European Capital of Culture last year, and next year Oulu will hold the title. Oulu was invited with its own sauna to the first Naked Truth event. The people of Oulu designed and built a mobile sauna specifically for the sauna discussion festival.
Katri Tenetz, producer of the Oulu Sauna Association, is delighted to have been invited again.
“The Naked Truth beautifully combines everyday traditions with cultural programming. For us, the sauna is above all a communal experience, a space for calming down and connecting – and that’s why it’s also a perfect setting for dialogue. There’s growing demand for the sauna we built for the Tartu event, and people will have the chance to enjoy some of Europe’s finest steam at several events in Finland as well,” Tenetz says.
This summer, the Oulu2026 Sauna will be heated up at Tuiran Beach and the Varjo Festival in Oulu in June, and at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival in July. As autumn approaches, it will warm guests at the Oulu Days festival.
For more information
Katri Tenetz, producer Oulun Rantasaunaseura ry, Tuiran Sauna Oulu 2026
katri.tenetz@rantasaunaseura.fi
+358405135202
@Oulu2026Sauna
Naked Truth event
Hannele Valkeeniemi, Finnish Institute in Estonia
hannele.valkeeniemi@finst.ee
+ 372 5688 6939
