Located next to Basel’s Eurovision street and other official venues, the area will be decorated with various Finnish elements, including dedicated photo walls for the artists. The Finnish area is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors.
“Tampere has been the home city of the Finnish selection for Eurovision, UMK, for a couple of years now. As soon as Erika Vikman won, we began planning ways to support her in Basel, because we definitely wanted to show our full support as a city in helping Ich komme win the contest. Since Tampere is the sauna capital of the world, the idea of a sauna was part of the plan from the beginning. The Finnish Sauna Society, led by former Eurovision contestant Hanna Pakarinen, is bringing the sauna to Basel,” says Saara Saarteinen, Event Manager for the City of Tampere.
“Following KAJ’s victory in the Swedish national Eurovision selection Melodifestivalen, Vörå has been gripped by true sauna fever this spring. We also started planning how we could support KAJ in Basel. The sauna was a central part of those plans. When we heard about Tampere’s initiative, we decided to join forces and head to Switzerland as a united front – and to enjoy a proper sauna experience,” says Jan Finne, Municipal Manager of Vörå.
The sauna will be heated throughout Eurovision week in park Kaserne Basel. The heating will be overseen by the official sauna heater from the Finnish Sauna Society. In addition to supporting the artists, the Finnish area will prominently showcase Finland and its travel opportunities. Supporting the project alongside the artists are, for example, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Finnish embassies in Germany and Switzerland, the Finnish Institute in Berlin, and Visit Finland.
“Sauna culture is currently gaining popularity around the world. The Finnish Sauna Society finds it incredibly important to bring an authentic Finnish sauna experience to Basel. An essential part of Finnish sauna culture is its inclusivity and equality – the same spirit that Eurovision promotes through music. The sauna also symbolizes the connection between Finland and Sweden, and now between Tampere and Vörå,” comments Hanna Pakarinen from the Finnish Sauna Society.
Contact details
Saara Saarteinen
Event Manager for the City of Tampere
+358 40 801 6222
saara.saarteinen@tampere.fi
visittampere.com ; tampere.fi/en
Jan Finne
Municipal Manager of Vörå
+358 40 568 3400
jan.finne@vora.fi
vora.fi/en/
Hanna Pakarinen
hanski04@gmail.com
sauna.fi/en/
Hannu Saintula
Chair of the Board, the Finnish Sauna Society
+358 50 559 9557
Sauna photos
https://visittampere.fi/en/professionals/photo-bank-and-materials/
https://tampere.pic.fi/kuvat/Sauna/
