‘It’s like a reverse strip club where you’re the stripper,’ says my friend in jaw-dropped disbelief.
He, like me, is sitting naked and sweating in a mega-sized sauna alongside 300 other nude bathers.
The crowd is going wild – clapping and whooping as two German performers dressed as chimney sweeps place ice balls infused with essential oils on to a giant stove to a tune from Mary Poppins.
We’re at the Aufguss World Championships – an annual sauna competition which feels part-Eurovision, part-panto and part-performance art with a dash of Carry On thrown in.
Now in its 20th year, it’s taking place at Aquardens thermal park, near Verona, in the world’s largest sauna.
The chimney sweeps twirl their towels in artful, slapstick movements, wafting perfumed steam over us all.
It engulfs us with a mighty whoosh and I take some deep breaths.
As the temperature climbs to 90C and counting, so does the excitement.
‘It’s like a reverse strip club where you’re the stripper,’ says my friend in jaw-dropped disbelief. He, like me, is sitting naked and sweating in a mega-sized sauna alongside 300 other nude bathers (Pictured: a crowd at the Aufguss World Championships)
We’re at the Aufguss World Championships – an annual sauna competition which feels part-Eurovision, part-panto and part-performance art with a dash of Carry On thrown in
Now in its 20th year, it’s taking place at Aquardens thermal park , near Verona, in the world’s largest sauna
After 15 minutes, the chimney sweeps take their final bows and a man in a centurion-style sauna hat leads a standing ovation.
We all file out, rinse off under cold showers and regroup for the next show – a Slovakian Snow White.
Her choreography is balletic and beautiful; as she pirouettes around the stove, balancing a towel in one hand and a red apple in the other.
I wonder where else on earth so many naked people would come together to sweat collectively. It feels strangely powerful.
‘Aufguss’ is the German word for ‘infusion’ and a traditional aufguss ritual is a therapeutic thermal journey accompanied by various aromas.
Show Aufguss is its gold-sequinned, pumped-up cousin with bells on.
By the end of a day, we will have also watched a Japanese Popeye, two Belgian friars, and a host of Vikings, fairies, wizards and gangsters – all from the comfort of a baking hot sauna.
At its best, Show Aufguss can be comical, captivating, emotional even.
By the end of a day, we will have also watched a Japanese Popeye, two Belgian friars, and a host of Vikings, fairies, wizards and gangsters – all from the comfort of a baking hot sauna
At its best, Show Aufguss can be comical, captivating, emotional even. But it’s always a bit bonkers
But it’s always a bit bonkers.
The UK first entered the week-long, sell-out event in 2023 – Kyle Buttner, a tech production manager, and Antonia Longrigg, a management consultant, compete for us.
When they take to the floor dressed as Princess Diana and Freddie Mercury on a (now-famous) night out in London, the crowd clap in anticipation.
How will the UK, so new to sauna, let alone Show Aufguss, fare?
The pair pour oil-infused water onto the stove from giant teapots and everyone cheers (there’s no audience more upbeat than a Show Aufguss audience).
‘Freddie’, dressed in a yellow PVC jacket, spirals his towel over his head and between his legs (competitors, unlike the audience, are always fully dressed).
‘When I signed up for a sauna master course through the British Sauna Society, I had never heard of the Aufguss World Championships,’ he says.
Neither had Longrigg, who was driven by curiosity.
The UK first entered the week-long, sell-out event in 2023 – Kyle Buttner, a tech production manager, and Antonia Longrigg, a management consultant, compete for us
When they take to the floor dressed as Princess Diana and Freddie Mercury on a (now-famous) night out in London , the crowd clap in anticipation
The pair pour oil-infused water onto the stove from giant teapots and everyone cheers (there’s no audience more upbeat than a Show Aufguss audience)
‘After performing in front of 300 naked people, I won’t be nervous about giving a work presentation ever again,’ she laughs.
How and where was this bizarre art born?
Franz Niederkofler, owner and CEO of Italian essential oils company Bergila, explains: ‘Back in 2000, myself and some sauna friends started combining scents to use in the sauna.
‘Then we brought in guitars and started singing.
‘Towel tactics were very simple. It was just a party, a bit of fun for sauna guests.’
Fast forward 25 years, and it’s an international jamboree that takes place in huge event saunas equipped with hi-tech lighting and sound where towel tactics are fast-paced and complex.
This year, more than 100 sauna masters from 19 countries took part.
Next year, Sweden, Moldova and Ukraine join the gang.
It’s an international jamboree that takes place in huge event saunas equipped with hi-tech lighting and sound where towel tactics are fast-paced and complex. This year, more than 100 sauna masters from 19 countries took part
Beyond the costumes and the crowds, Show Aufguss is an entertaining option for people who find sitting in a sauna boring.
It’s also a good way to encourage people who think they don’t like sauna to try it, and spas are seeing its potential.
Lasse Eriksen, Norwegian vice president of Aufguss WM, runs luxury spa Farrisbad near Oslo.
He says: ‘For us on the board and the jury, Show Aufguss is a hobby. We do it for the love.
‘But it has huge potential.
‘Combining all the elements – the thermal journey with a strong concept and good story-telling is not easy.
‘We have a long way to go and as more countries join, we will see it evolve.’
Show Aufguss is practiced in many parts of Europe, but nowhere more enthusiastically than in northern Italy.
Back home, I call my friend, who had come with me as a Show Aufguss newbie. ‘So, did you enjoy it?’ I ask. ‘I feel great,’ he says. ‘But, erm, what just happened?’
Cron4 spa near Bolzano hosted the first competition in 2005 and the Preidlhof resort near Merano is a breeding ground for champions; its six-storey ‘sauna tower’ is home to seven saunas and a training school where sauna masters hone their skills (in Europe, being a sauna master is a viable career).
This November, Preidlhof, along with its four sister hotels, hosts ‘Sauna Around Week’, and guests can hop between sites and see Aufguss world champions do their thing.
In October, the new sauna at Aquardens will host a 15-minute version of Carmen and more sauna operas are planned.
Back home, I call my friend, who had come with me as a Show Aufguss newbie.
‘So, did you enjoy it?’ I ask.
‘I feel great,’ he says. ‘But, erm, what just happened?’
Emma O’Kelly is the author SAUNA – the Power of Deep Heat and Wild Sauna. To find out more about Aufguss, visit aufguss-wm.com.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .