Croatia’s national broadcaster, HRT, has confirmed that it received 196 submissions to take part in the upcoming edition of Dora, its national selection.
Record high for HRT in recent years
According to Croatian Eurovision site Eurosong.hr, as many as 196 submissions were received at the end of the submissions window. This is one of the highest numbers that HRT has received in recent years. Ahead of the closure, Croatian Head of Delegation Tomislav Štengl announced that 50 songs had been received. He did, however, say that as the deadline looms closer, many artists will send in their contributions.
Of these 196 submissions, a host of well-known performers and songwriters submitted an entry. These include Igor Cukrov, who represented Croatia in 2009, as well as Damir Kedžo. Damir Kedžo was due to represent Croatia in 2020, before the Contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organisers at Dora will now determine whether semi-finals will be introduced to the competition, depending on the quality of the submitted songs. Should semi-finals be introduced, some 28 songs will be in contention to represent Croatia in Liverpool. No specific date has been set for the final of Dora 2023. However, it has been confirmed that the final will be held in February 2023.
Croatia’s Eurovision journey
Croatia has been a part of the Eurovision family since 1961, as part of Yugoslavia. Ten Croatian artists went on to represent Yugoslavia in the Contest – the most famous of which being Riva, who gave Yugoslavia its only win in 1989. The 1990 Contest was held in Zagreb as a tribute to their Croatian heritage.
Croatia debuted in the Contest as an independent nation in 1993 with the band Put and their song “Don’t Ever Cry”. Since then, Croatia has gone on to score as high as 4th place in 1996 and 1999. Last year, Mia Dimšić won Dora 2022 to represent Croatia at the Contest in Turin with her song “Guilty Pleasure”. However, at the close of voting, Mia failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 11th place with a total of 75 points.
What do you think of the news from Croatia? Do you think there could be a winner in the bunch for HRT? What is your favourite Croatian Eurovision entry? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we prepare to cover Eurovision 2023!
News Source: Eurosong.hr
Photo Credit: EBU / Corinne Cumming
Daniel Popović also submitt a song for Croatian Selection 2023. He is famous for his 1983. entry and great hit Julie. He ranked 4th in Munich, with only one point difference from third place.