Finland Reclaims World Record – Most Nationalities in a Sauna

Did you know there is an actual world record for having the most nationalities in one sauna?  Even stranger, did you know there was an ongoing competition for that title?  Well there is now a back and forth competition between the nations of Finland and China for that title, and Finland once again reclaimed the glory.

“It’s for fun but we also want to promote diversity, multiculturalism, team work, bringing us all together. Finland is the land of the sauna, so this is a great place, a great institution to support.” – organizer Kevin Gore.

The Details

The criteria for this world record was actually someone strict.  The people involved had to prove their nationalities by displaying their passport to the Guinness officials just prior to entering the sauna.  The other criteria was that all of the participants needed to be in the sauna at the same time for a minimum of 5 minutes at a minimum temperature of 60 degrees C. 

This record was made possible through the international business students from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.  91 embassies were contacted for help in putting this together.  In the end people from 101 nationalities were in the sauna together, beating China’s 2013 record of 99.  Haaga-Helia University was reclaiming their 2009 record with of 76 people.  No world yet on if China is currently organizing to once again take the record from Finland.