HRT has officially confirmed that Croatia will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, set to be held in Vienna.
Entry to be determined via Dora
HRT has also confirmed that Croatia’s entry will once again be chosen through Dora. The submission period for Dora 2026 is already open and runs until 23 November.
The main rules for taking part are:
- Entries must be original and no longer than three minutes.
- Songs must not have been publicly released or performed before the contest.
- Performers must be at least 16 years old and Croatian citizens.
- Autotune is prohibited during live performances.
- A maximum of six people may appear on stage for each act.
- Selected artists are required to submit a music or lyric video of their entry to HRT by 5 January 2026.
After the submission period ends, an expert panel will pick 24 songs to take part in Dora 2026, along with four backup entries in case of withdrawals. The competition is scheduled for February 2026, and its winner will go on to represent Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.
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 was 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 2nd place in 2024.
In 2025, Croatia chose Marko Bošnjak to represent the nation in Basel with his song “Poison Cake”. Performing in the first semi-final, Croatia failed to qualify for the final, placing twelfth with a televote score of 28 points.
Croatia, are you ready to start your Eurovision 2026 journey? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News source: HRT
Photo credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
Euan T