INF-FNI announces 2026 Congress in Hungary

The naturist world’s governing body heads to Kecskemét—with unfinished business from Zipolite on the agenda

Apr 04, 2026

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A wide, sunlit lakeside scene at a naturist beach and campsite, where dozens of nude adults relax on grass and towels under colorful umbrellas. People sit, chat, and sunbathe near the water’s edge, with trees lining the background and a calm, social atmosphere throughout. — A summer afternoon at Szeged-Sziksósfürdő | A glimpse of Hungary’s long-standing naturist culture

I was in the room in Zipolite when delegates voted to bring the next World Congress to Hungary, and while the vote was close, the choice felt well supported by the delegation. Now it’s confirmed: the INF-FNI’s 40th General Assembly will convene near Kecskemét in September 2026—and the agenda shaping up around it may make this one of the more consequential gatherings the federation has held in years.

Hungary is a fitting host. The country has a longstanding naturist culture, several well-established clubs and resorts, and a legal environment broadly supportive of clothing-optional recreation. Kecskemét sits in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain—a very different backdrop from tropical Zipolite, but a welcoming one for a movement that draws delegates from more than 40 countries.

Hungary is a fitting host, and not merely by reputation. The country's relationship with naturism reportedly dates all the way back to 1903, when the first official naturist camp was established on the shores of Lake Balaton—making Hungary one of Europe's earliest adopters of organized nude recreation. That tradition has held. Roughly one in five Hungarians has visited a nudist beach.1 The Federation of Naturists in Hungary, NAMASZ, has been the country's official INF-FNI member since 2007 according to the INF-FNI website, and Hungarian delegates were present in Zipolite when the vote was cast.

That long historical arc gives the 2026 gathering a commemorative weight, but the immediate agenda is anything but ceremonial. Chief among the unresolved items is the federation’s membership fee structure. The current 100% rule—requiring national federations to register and pay for their entire membership base—has long been a barrier to fuller global participation. In Zipolite, the vote to reform it fell just shy of the required two-thirds majority, while the Naturisten Federatie Nederland (NFN), the world’s largest naturist federation, was granted a two-year grace period to bring itself into compliance with Dutch consumer protection law. Both issues expire at this Congress. Delegates in Hungary will need to find a durable solution—one that opens the door to broader international participation without fracturing the federation’s structure.

Beyond the procedural agenda, the 2026 Congress arrives at a moment when the movement has a lot to talk about. Germany’s FKK culture is under demographic pressure, with clubs losing members and municipalities scrambling to preserve dedicated nude spaces. Brazil’s naturist beaches have faced municipal crackdowns that are now being contested in the courts. And the INF-FNI itself led a coalition of organizations from over 40 countries in an open letter to Meta, demanding an end to the censorship of non-sexual naturist content on social media. These are more than peripheral or passing concerns, they’re some of the big issues naturism faces, and they’re the challenges that a unified international body exists to address.

Details on registration and attendance will come through national member federations in the months ahead. I hope to be there. 🪐