A full-blown celebration of sauna culture
22 & 23 AUGUST 2026 · LEURA NSW
Two days of serious heat, icy plunges and good company in the Blue Mountains. The official launch of the Savu, our fourth birthday, and a whole lot of fun.
The Big Sweat is a two-day public sauna festival at Blue Mountains Sauna, co-presented with the Australian Sauna Association. A weekend built around the simple, transformative power of heat, cold and good company: communal sessions, cold-water plunges, sauna whisking, market stalls, games, talks, live music, good food and three visiting wood-fired saunas from around the east coast. And Aufguss all weekend: a full showcase of the ceremony, running across every sauna on site.
It's also a double celebration. The Savu, the Southern Hemisphere's first public savusauna, makes its debut. And Blue Mountains Sauna turns four, marking four years of championing real sauna culture in Australia.
Whether you bathe every week or have never set foot in a sauna, you belong here. All ages and all experience levels. Adult and child tickets are available, and three per cent of net proceeds go to Sauna Aid.
THE GUEST OF HONOUR
The Savu takes its bow
The first public traditional savusauna in the Southern Hemisphere, designed over three years with Dr. Lassi A. Liikkanen of Aalto University. A wood fire burns for hours, the smoke is vented, and what remains is the softest, most enveloping heat a sauna can offer.
The Savu now fires from 11am every day, and The Big Sweat is its official launch celebration. If you're waiting to see why not all heat is created equal, this is the moment.
OUR FOURTH BIRTHDAY
Four years of good heat
Four years ago we opened our doors in Leura and set out to prove that Australia was ready for real sauna culture: communal, simple, done properly. Since then we've poured daily löyly, trained Saunameisters, hosted Aufguss and workshops, and built a savusauna many said couldn't be done here.
The Big Sweat is our birthday party, and everyone's invited. It's also a marker of how far sauna in Australia has come, gathered in one place for a weekend with the people who've carried it.
A festival, the way the world does it
From Sauna Days in the US, to Saunaverse in the UK and Saunafest in New Zealand, the global revival of sauna has been carried by gatherings like these: music, arts, culture, community and shared heat. The Big Sweat draws on that lineage and brings it home.
Who you'll meet
A weekend like this is built by the people who turn up to make it. Here are some of the operators, makers and teachers joining us in Leura.
Sauna/Bastu
A mobile wood-fired sauna carrying authentic Scandinavian tradition through the Blue Mountains. Their work is about connecting with nature, slowing down and rejuvenating, exactly the spirit we want in the room.
Cedar & Salt
A portable Finnish wood-fired barrel sauna from the NSW coast, more used to sitting beachside with ocean views. Twelve bathers at a time, and for this weekend it trades the surf for mountain air.
Håut Hutt
Pronounced "hot hut". Traditional Finnish-style wood-fired and electric saunas, crafted from cedar by a couple in Victoria's High Country and made here in Australia, designed to roam.
Your Local Studio
A Blue Mountains studio blending movement, mindfulness and community, with Pilates and Yoga in Leura and Blackheath. They'll run yoga and movement classes across the weekend to complement the heat and cold.
Mr Tom's Pizza
A climber turned wood-fired pizza maker, Mr Tom's is a much-loved mobile pizzeria from the heart of the Blue Mountains. Proper fire, proper dough, exactly what you want after a session in the heat.
Markets & Making
Market stalls to wander between sessions, plus sauna hat decorating with the crew behind our felt hat workshops. Decorate your own woollen hat and wear it into the heat.
What to expect
Tickets
- Single day · Adult$80
- Single day · Child$40
- Weekend Pass · Adult$150
- Weekend Pass · Child$70
Every ticket includes a two-hour bathing slot on your chosen day, plus the full festival program: music, food, workshops and talks. The Weekend Pass includes one bathing slot on each of the two days.
Ticketing is handled by the Australian Sauna Association, the not-for-profit national body for sauna in Australia and a member of the International Sauna Association. ASA members save 10%.
What to bring
- Swimwear (sessions are clothed)
- Three towels: one to sit on, one to dry off with, one to shower with
- Water bottle and a robe or warm layer
- Slides or other waterproof footwear
Questions
Do I need any sauna experience?
None at all. Our team and Saunameisters will guide you through the hot-cold-rest cycle, and you're welcome to go at your own pace and step out whenever you like.
What do I wear?
Swimwear for all sessions at this event. Nude sauna sessions are a separate 18+ program at Blue Mountains Sauna and are not part of The Big Sweat or any children's or family programming.
Can I bring children?
Yes. Child tickets are available and there will be family-friendly sessions, food and games. Children must be supervised at all times.
What is Aufguss?
A European sauna practice involving water, ice, aromatic steam, music and choreographed towel work. The room shares one wave of heat, scent and intensity together. It's the clearest way to experience sauna as a shared ritual. At The Big Sweat, Aufguss runs as a full showcase across every sauna on site.
What is sauna whisking?
A Finnish tradition, the birch vihta, done here with bundles of fresh eucalyptus. The leafy whisk is rhythmically tapped and brushed over the skin in the heat, moving the steam, releasing the oils and aroma of the leaves and getting the circulation going. Gentler than it sounds, and strangely wonderful.
How do tickets work?
Ticketing is handled by the Australian Sauna Association. Every ticket includes a two-hour bathing slot on your chosen day, plus access to the full festival program. ASA members save 10%.
Where does the donation go?
Three per cent of net event proceeds go to Sauna Aid, an International Sauna Association initiative providing mobile sauna facilities and support to communities affected by disasters.
Bring the heat
Hot rooms, cold plunges, market stalls, live music and good food. A new savusauna to meet, a birthday to celebrate, and a culture coming alive in Australia. Loud, warm, communal and a little bit wild. Come sweat it out with us.
