AUFGUSS-WM 2026 will soon transform the traditional act of pouring water onto hot sauna stones into genuine performance art. From 14 to 20 September, the world’s leading Show Aufguss masters will compete in Germany, combining heat and steam with towel techniques, aromas, music, lighting, choreography and storytelling. It is a sauna experience that goes far beyond the conventional idea of sitting in a hot room.
AUFGUSS-WM 2026 will take place at SATAMA Sauna Resort & Spa by Lake Scharmützelsee in Brandenburg, approximately an hour from Berlin. The location is no coincidence – SATAMA is one of Germany’s best-known sauna resorts, and its specially equipped Sauna Theatre has previously hosted international Aufguss competitions.
But to understand why people travel to a world championship to watch something that might initially sound as simple as pouring water onto sauna stones, it is first necessary to understand what modern Aufguss has become.
What exactly is Show Aufguss?
Traditional Aufguss begins with a familiar action – water is poured onto heated sauna stones, increasing the humidity, while a sauna master uses a towel to direct hot air towards the guests.
Show Aufguss transforms this basic principle into a much more elaborate performance.
AUFGUSS-WM describes it as a sauna ritual in which traditional heat and aromas are combined with storytelling, music, lighting and choreography. The sauna master no longer simply controls the movement of hot air – they perform in front of an audience.
The towel becomes almost a stage instrument.
Using different movements, the master distributes hot air throughout the sauna while simultaneously creating a visual performance. More elaborate routines may use several towels, different aromas, costumes, sound effects and specially designed lighting.
The result is a sauna session that becomes a small theatrical production.
The road to the World Championship starts at home
Competitors cannot simply register directly for the AUFGUSS-WM 2026 final.
Their journey begins with national competitions and qualifying events.
This year, qualifiers have taken place in numerous countries, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
An international Playoffs event was also held at Thermen Bussloo in the Netherlands in August, where the remaining World Championship places were decided.
And this is where the Baltic region also enters the story.
Estonia will also be represented in the final
Ksenia Komarov and Frederik Vilms-Jamsa finished first in the team competition at the 2026 Playoffs, securing their path to AUFGUSS-WM.
Ksenia Komarov represents Estonia’s developing Aufguss scene, which has become increasingly visible in international sauna competitions.
This is interesting from a Latvian perspective as well.
Latvian sauna culture has a particularly strong tradition of whisking with sauna brooms, using plants and conducting traditional sauna rituals. Meanwhile, just across the border, another professional form of sauna culture is developing.
Yet both begin with the same basic elements – hot stones, water and a person who understands how to work with heat.
Individual and team competitions
AUFGUSS-WM has two main competition categories – individual and team performances.
In the individual category, one sauna master is responsible for the entire session: controlling the heat, aromas and airflow while simultaneously developing the chosen story.
The team category opens up even more possibilities.
Several masters can create a shared choreography, switch roles and use the entire Sauna Theatre as their stage.
But there is one fundamental difference from an ordinary theatre.
The audience is not sitting in a cool auditorium.
They are sitting inside a sauna.
A stage where temperature becomes part of the performance
This may be the most fascinating aspect of Show Aufguss.
In conventional theatre, actors, lighting, sound and scenery shape the audience’s experience.
Aufguss adds another element – heat.
The sauna master effectively works with the microclimate of the room.
Water poured onto hot stones increases humidity, while towel movements direct the hot, humid air towards the audience.
The spectators therefore do not simply see and hear the performance.
They feel it on their skin.
This physical dimension is what separates Show Aufguss from almost every other form of performance art.
Sauna Theatre prepares like a real stage
AUFGUSS-WM 2026 will take place inside SATAMA’s specially equipped Sauna Theatre.
Before the championship, the venue is prepared for performances in which the sauna heater is only one part of the technical environment. Sound, lighting and visual effects also play important roles.
Organisers even provide competitors with dedicated lighting plans and technical configurations.
This demonstrates how far the discipline has developed.
Competitors must think not only about aromas and towel movements but also about lighting cues, music and the technical execution of the entire performance.
The sauna effectively becomes a theatre auditorium.
Only much hotter.
A final rehearsal before the championship
SATAMA will host a special Warm Up event on 12 September – effectively a dress rehearsal before the World Championship.
The starting order for competitors is scheduled to be drawn on 13 September.
The first official competition sessions begin on 14 September, with the championship continuing until 20 September.
That means the world’s leading Aufguss masters now have only a few days remaining before the final competition begins.
A sauna ritual becomes an international competitive discipline
The development of AUFGUSS-WM reveals something interesting about modern sauna culture.
Traditions do not stand still.
In one country, sauna culture may still centre on whisks and plants. Elsewhere, silence and simply sitting in the heat are more important. In another place, the sauna becomes a social space in the middle of a city.
Show Aufguss follows yet another path – transforming the work of a sauna master into an internationally comparable professional discipline.
The geographical spread of the competition shows that this is no longer only a German, Austrian or Dutch phenomenon.
National qualifiers now take place in Canada, the United States and other countries beyond the traditional European centres of sauna culture.
Tradition or show?
This form of sauna inevitably raises a question: is it still a sauna ritual, or has it become theatre?
Perhaps the answer is both.
Show Aufguss retains the traditional foundations – heated stones, water, steam, aromas and airflow directed by a sauna master.
But it adds an entirely different language of expression.
Music. Lighting. Costumes. Storytelling. Choreography.
It is not the same experience that people in Latvia traditionally associate with whisking or a sauna ritual, and there is no reason to force the two traditions to become identical.
On the contrary, it is fascinating to see how differently the same culture of heat can evolve around the world.
AUFGUSS-WM 2026 begins on 14 September
From 14 to 20 September, SATAMA Sauna Resort & Spa will become the venue where the world’s best Show Aufguss masters are determined.
But the championship is interesting even for people who do not particularly care who wins.
It demonstrates how a traditional action – pouring water onto heated stones and directing hot air with a towel – can develop into an international discipline with national qualifiers, professional judging, specially equipped sauna stages and competitors from countries around the world.
AUFGUSS-WM 2026 is another example of how diverse the modern sauna world is becoming. For some, sauna means silence. For others, tradition or wellbeing. Here, heat itself becomes the stage.
Sources
AUFGUSS-WM – official World Championship information and explanation of Show Aufguss.
AUFGUSS-WM – national competition results and qualification system.
AUFGUSS-WM – 2026 Playoffs results.
SATAMA Sauna Resort & Spa – AUFGUSS-WM 2026 programme and event information.
