A floating community sauna on frozen Lake Oulu seemed as good a place as any to ask Finnish locals what they think of the European Capital of Culture bandwagon that will be rolling into their city in 2026. Two women sweltering on the top bench seemed to sweat more over my question than over the clouds of sauna steam – the result of a beefy Finn ladling water on the wood-fired coals with a grim determination to broil us all.
“Hmmm, yes, it will bring people to Oulu, which is good, but we don’t really know much about it,” said one of the women. “We know it’s happening, but we haven’t had many details.”
Outside, queueing for the pleasure of a dip in the frozen lake, the question elicited the sort of shrug rarely seen outside France. “We know it’s happening because the posters and signs are everywhere and people are talking about it, but we don’t know exactly what is happening,” said another woman, steaming in the sub-zero air.
There are many reasons to visit the Finnish city of Oulu, which sits on the eastern edge of the Baltic Sea: it hosts the Air Guitar world championships; is home to the world’s only Screaming Men’s Choir (20-40 suited, shouty men); and holds the annual Polar Bear Pitching event, where would-be business leaders pitch money-spinning ideas while standing in icy water. The presentations tend to be brief.
Oulu, Finland’s fifth most populous city, is 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It is a short drive from huskies and sled rides; it offers sea, rivers, rapids, lakes, woods, nature trails and reserves; and there is cross-country skiing as well as almost 600 miles of cycle lanes. You can see the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter. It is a leading light in solar power and renewable energy – and it has saunas. Saunas on lakes and on rafts, saunas in hotels, free saunas by the roadside and in most homes. A century ago, 95% of all children were born at home, often in the sauna. Today, most parents-to-be choose a hospital but introduce their offspring to the sauna at an average age of 4.5 months.
Plus, the Oululainens have a cheery disposition, as do most Finns according to a survey that declared Finland the world’s happiest country for the eighth successive year.
These are all positives to attract visitors to this northern Nordic city that began as a settlement on Sami land in the 1600s, then became a trading site for wood tar, salmon and Nokia phones, and is now a European digital hub and a “living laboratory” (where innovations are tested in a real-world environment) for new technologies.
Sadly, few of these esoteric attractions featured on a trip organised by the city’s Oulu 2026 culture committee, which chose highbrow over the shouty men and pretend guitarists.
The city’s diverse €50m Capital of Culture programme, spread across 39 sites and four counties, is aiming to attract up to 2.5 million visitors – 20% up on an average year – with the theme “Cultural Climate Change”. Highlights include a free Frozen People electronic music festival, held on the iced-over Bothnian Bay – provided it is frozen next year. Also on the calendar is the Lumo Art & Tech festival, plus the Arctic Food Lab, celebrating local cuisine (wild fish, berries, mushrooms), and a Sami opera, Ovllá, about the Indigenous people of Sápmi – the local word for Lapland – which covers northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia’s Kola Peninsula.
“Its a unique opportunity for Oulu,” said Piia Rantala-Korhonen, chief executive officer of Oulu 2026, who estimates that for every euro spent, there will be a €5 return for the city. “Climate change is already happening and is a big concern here: the ice and snow are disappearing. Last year, we had to cancel the skiing marathon for only the second time in 100 years because there was no snow,” she said.
Out on Oulu’s unseasonably slushy streets, most locals are cheerfully enthusiastic about 2026. “It will be nice to have people come here and discover our city,” said Matti, a student at one of Oulu’s two universities. “I am looking forward to it.”
Thirty meters under the city, you can find the Kivisydän (“stone heart”), a vast state-of-the-art car park that diverts vehicles away from the centre and doubles as a walkway when it rains and an emergency bomb shelter. It is a reminder of Finland’s proximity to Russia and the increasing alarm over its aggressive neighbour since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Behind the Kivisydän’s steel doors, a vast red stone column stands like a beating heart. The car park could house the entire city, our guide told us.
But does it have a sauna? I asked.
“I don’t think so, but we’re Finns. If necessary, we can build one in a couple of days,” he said.
Were I a publicist for Oulu 2026, I would have hired Finland’s best air guitarist to accompany the screaming men with a few riffs while standing in an icy lake. Instead, after a traditional salmon soup dinner hosted by the city – followed by a sauna – we were treated to a cosy Norse tale. When 19th-century Oulu sailors became drunk and rowdy on merchant ships carrying tar to Liverpool, local legend has it that the Liverpudlian landlord would urge them to “keep peace”. This is now a popular toast.
As we raised glasses of local schnapps, I can think of many exclamations a scouse pub owner might make to an inebriated Finn. “Keep peace” is not one of them. Still, surrounded by the world’s happiest people, it seemed churlish to argue.
Then it was off to the sauna.
The trip was provided by Oulu 2026