The 2024 World Sauna Forum, which was held on 7 June 2024, attracted a full house of enthusiasts from the international sauna community. The forum, now in its sixth year, was marked by a series of engaging presentations from leading figures in the sauna world.
An event by Sauna from Finland to celebrate and advance sauna culture worldwide
Jasper Pääkkönen, the Hollywood actor, environmentalist, and sauna entrepreneur, delivered the keynote address. He highlighted the global community's role in helping Finns recognize the unique cultural significance of their sauna tradition. "Finns have always treasured the sauna, but until recently we never fully understood that there's something very special about it," Jasper Pääkkönen remarked, referencing a 2010 Finnish government report that mentioned "sauna" only twice.
Jasper Pääkkönen is the owner and co-founder of one of Helsinki's first design sauna complexes, Löyly, which is one of TIME Magazine's 100 Greatest Places to Visit, and is also the co-founder of AITO sauna, which manufactures luxury saunas for the international market. He praised pioneers like Finnish professor and cardiologist Jari A. Laukkanen, whose research into the health benefits of sauna bathing has sparked worldwide interest in the Finnish steambath tradition.
Carita Harju, founder and managing director of Sauna from Finland at World Sauna Forum 2024
The forum featured a diverse lineup of international sauna experts. Notable speakers included Jake Newport, CEO of Finnmark Sauna UK; Annu Huotari, sustainability innovator and CEO of Hawkhill Cottage Resort in Finland; Eric Harkonen, founder of Vettä Nordic Spa in Canada; Earric Lee, postdoctoral fellow (currently in Canada) on scientific research regarding the health effects of sauna bathing; Sho Yoshinaga, CEO of Metos Japan; Matias Järnefelt, CEO of Harvia, a global sauna and spa market leader founded in Finland; Ali Temme, CFO of Nordic Sauna, US; Alan Jalasjaa, the Canadian creator and host of Kivia; and Lisa-Elen Meyering, managing director of Spa Dispatch, part of Finnmark UK.
The World Sauna Forum, organized by Sauna from Finland, an expertise association founded in 2010, brought together companies, buyers, and professionals to celebrate and advance the global sauna culture.
