CROATIA in the Eurovision Song Contest – Participation history

Croatia

  • Emittente televisiva:HRT (Croatian Radiotelevision, Hrvatska radiotelevizija)
  • Processo di Selezione: Selezione Nazionale (Dora: 1993-2011, 2019) | Selezione Interna (2012–2013, 2016–2018)
  • Organizzazione concorso – Paese ospite: 
  • Numero di partecipazioni: 25 (18 finali)
  • Lingue:  Croato / Inglese (3), Croato (14), Inglese (5)
  • Prima partecipazione: ESC Millstreet 1993: Put | Don’t Ever Cry
  • Miglior piazzamento: Top 5: FI: 4° (1996, 1999), 5° (1998) | SF: 3° (1993), 4° (2005, 2008) 
  • Miglior piazzamento Top 10: FI: 6° (1995), 9° (2000), 10° (2001)  | SF: 9° (2004), 10° (2016)
  • Peggior piazzamento (Bottom): FI: 23° (2016) | SF: 19° (1996), 17th SF: 2018
  • Average place: 11,90
  • Qualificazioni per la Finale: 7 su 14 (dal 2004)
  • Numero di vittorie: 0
  • Nul points (Nil points): FI: 0 | SF: 0

Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participating broadcaster

Participation summary
Appearances
First appearance
Language
National Selections National final
Internal selection
Hostings
Highest placement Top 5 FINAL SEMI-FINALS
Highest placement Top 10 FINAL SEMI-FINALS
Worst placement (Bottom) FINAL SEMI-FINALS
Times qualified – Qualifiying rate
Victories
Nul points (Nil points) FINAL SEMI-FINALS

Participation history

Note: Entries scored out signify where Croatia did not compete
Years

1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024 • 2025 • 2026 •  
Artists Put • Tony Cetinski • Magazin and Lidija (Magazin i Lidija) • Maja Blagdan • E.N.I. • Danijela (Danijela Martinović) • Doris (Doris Dragović) • Goran Karan • Vanna • Vesna Pisarović • Claudia Beni • Ivan Mikulić • Boris Novković featuring Lado members (Boris Novković i Lado) • Severina • Dragonfly featuring Dado Topić (Dragonfly i Dado Topić) • Kraljevi ulice and 75 Cents (Kraljevi ulice i 75 Cents) • Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea (Igor Cukrov i Andrea Šušnjara) • Feminnem • Daria • Nina Badrić • Klapa s Mora • Nina Kraljić • Jacques Houdek • Franka (Franka Batelić) • Roko (Roko Blažević) • Damir Kedžo • Albina • Mia Dimšić • Let 3 • Baby Lasagna • Marko Bošnjak • LELEK •
Songs “Don’t Ever Cry” • “Nek’ ti bude ljubav sva” • “Nostalgija” • “Sveta ljubav” • “Probudi me” • “Neka mi ne svane” • “Marija Magdalena” • “Kad zaspu anđeli” (Ostani) • “Strings of My Heart” • “Everything I Want” • “Više nisam tvoja” • “You Are the Only One” • “Vukovi umiru sami” • “Moja štikla” • “Vjerujem u ljubav” • “Romanca” • “Lijepa Tena” • “Lako je sve” • “Celebrate” • “Nebo” • “Mižerja” • “Lighthouse” • “My Friend” • “Crazy” • “The Dream” • “Divlji vjetre” • “Tick-Tock” • “Guilty Pleasure” • “Mama ŠČ!” • “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” • “Poison Cake” • “Andromeda”

Croatia has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 30 times since making its debut at the 1993 contest. The Croatian participating broadcaster in the contest is Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT), which has selected its entrant through the Dora festival since 1993, excluding from 2012 to 2018. Croatia’s best result in the contest is a second-place finish in 2024.

Croatia achieved six top ten results in seven years, with “Nostalgija” performed by Magazin and Lidija finishing sixth (1995), “Sveta ljubav” by Maja Blagdan fourth (1996), “Neka mi ne svane” by former Magazin member Danijela Martinović fifth (1998), “Marija Magdalena” by Doris Dragović fourth (1999), “Kad zaspu anđeli” by Goran Karan ninth (2000), and “Strings of My Heart” by Vanna tenth (2001). A period of 23 years without a top ten result followed, which was interrupted by a second-place finish in 2024 with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” by Baby Lasagna.

Croatia failed to reach the final for four years in succession (2010–2013), before choosing to not participate in 2014 and 2015. Croatia returned and reached the final in both 2016 and 2017, before again failing to reach the final for four consecutive contests (2018–2022), and in 2025. In total, Croatia has failed to reach the final in nine of the last fifteen contests it has entered.

Participation. Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT) has been a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1st January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It has participated in the contest representing Croatia since its 38th edition that same year.

Before its independence in 1991, Croatia was part of Yugoslavia. Ten Yugoslavian entrants in the Eurovision Song Contest came from the former SR Croatia (1963, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990). Apart from being the most successful Yugoslav republic in the contest, it gave the socialist republic its only win, “Rock Me”, performed by Riva in 1989 in Lausanne. The 1990 contest was held in Zagreb as a result, hosted by HRT’s predecessor Radio Televizija Zagreb on behalf of the Yugoslav Radio Television (JRT).

History.

1990s. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, Croatia became an independent country, and Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) became an EBU member in 1993.

In February 1993, HRT organised HTF – Hrvatski televizijski festival (Croatian television festival), which was to select the country’s debut entry as an independent state for the 1993 contest. The band Put won performing the song “Don’t Ever Cry” which was, despite the English title, also partially performed in Croatian. The song came third in the Kvalifikacija za Millstreet pre-selection event, which allowed their participation in the 1993 contest. HTF was also held in 1994 for the 1994 contest, until being renamed to Dora in 1995, the name which is still to this day used for the Croatian pre-selection event. The new name for the contest was inspired by the Croatian composer Dora Pejačević.

Along with Cyprus, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, Croatia was never relegated in the 1990s, and, unlike Cyprus, Norway, and Portugal, it was never relegated in the beginning of the 21st century. Relegation meant that the country would have to sit out the subsequent contest due to poor placement.

2000s. Croatia continued selecting its participants through Dora for the entirety of the decade. After Vanna’s song “Strings of my Heart” finished 10th at the 2001 contest, the country has not achieved a Top 10 placement until placing second at the 2024 contest. The 2007 edition of the contest saw Croatia failing to qualify for the finals for the first time ever. The country qualified for the finals again at the 2008 and 2009 contests, achieving their lowest placements at the time, placing 21st and 18th respectively.

2010s. Both 2010 and 2011 Dora winners, Feminnem and Daria Kinzer respectively, failed to quality for the finals at the 2010 and 2011 contests. In 2012, Dora was cancelled, and for the first time ever since the country’s debut in 1993, no pre-selection contest was held. An internal selection was made by HRT instead, with Nina Badrić and Klapa s Mora selected to represent Croatia at the 2012 and 2013 contests respectively. Both entries ultimately continued Croatia’s non-qualification streak.

HRT announced on 19 September 2013 that they would not participate in the 2014 contest, citing the financial difficulties, as well as a string of poor results between 2010 and 2013 influencing their decision to take a year’s break. The last time Croatia qualified for the grand final at the time was in 2009. Croatia would not return to the contest in 2015, and on 5 May 2015, HRT announced that it wouldn’t broadcast the 2015 contest either. It was the first time since 1992 for HRT to not broadcast the contest.

On 26 November 2015, it was announced that Croatia would return to the contest in 2016. It was also reported that the entry would possibly be the winner of the first season of The Voice – Najljepši glas Hrvatske. Nina Kraljić won The Voice and was selected to represent Croatia with the internally selected song “Lighthouse”. The entry qualified for the final, making it the first time Croatia had made it to the final since 2009. After the successful return in 2016, Croatian national broadcaster HRT confirmed on 17 September 2016 that they would also participate in 2017. Jacques Houdek, the coach of Nina Kraljić in The Voice, was internally selected to represent the country on 17 February 2017, exactly five months after they confirmed the participation. Franka Batelić was internally selected to represent the country at the 2018 contest.

On 30 October 2018, it was announced by HRT that the national final, Dora, would return in 2019, traditionally taking place in Opatija, a famous summer resort.[13] Roko won the first renewed edition of Dora with “The Dream”, ultimately failing to qualify for the finals at the 2019 contest.

2020s. In March 2021, it was confirmed that HRT and Opatija had signed a three-year long contract regarding the organization of HRT Music Days and Dora, meaning both of these events were held in the city annually until 2024. Damir Kedžo won the 2020 edition of Dora with “Divlji vjetre”, but did not represent Croatia due to the 2020 contest’s cancellation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Albina and Mia Dimšić won the subsequent Dora editions, both failing to qualify for the finals at the 2021 and 2022 contests. Let 3 won Dora in 2023 and went on to secure the country’s first finale qualification since 2017, ultimately finishing 13th. The following year’s 2024 edition of Dora was held in Zagreb through two semi-final shows on 22 and 23 February, and the final show on 25 February 2024. Baby Lasagna won with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” and achieved the country’s best result to date, having placed second at the 2024 contest. Marko Bošnjak won Dora 2025 and represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025; however, the country did not qualify for the Grand Final. Dora 2026 is scheduled to be held to select the Croatian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

Participation overview: Below is a list of all songs and their respective performers that have represented the Croatia in the contest:

Table Key: ¹ First place Ι  ² Second place Ι ³ Third place Ι ◁ Last place Ι  X Entry selected but did not compete Ι † Upcoming event Ι ◊ Entry disqualified during the contest.

• Participation history (Event – Dates Ι Contestant(s) – (Backing artists) Ι R/O – Song – Translate Ι Language Ι Songwriter(s): Composer(s) – Lyricist(s) Ι National Selection Ι Semi-FInal: Place – Points // Final result: Place – Points):

For contestants prior to 1993, see Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to Yugoslavia‘s dissolution, artists from the Croatian federal unit represented Yugoslavia in 1963, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990.

Table key
1 First place
2 Second place
3 Third place
X Entry selected but did not compete
† Upcoming event

Note: Edizione | # | Artista (i) | Canzone [Musica (m) / Texto (t)] | Lingua (Traduzione) | Punteggio | Posizione | Processo di Selezione

Notes:

  1. a^ab Progressed through Kvalifikacija za Millstreet
  2. b^ According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the grand final without having to compete in semi-finals. Although Serbia and Montenegro finished in the top ten in 2005, they did not participate in the 2006 contest, and their place in the final was awarded to 11th-place Croatia.
  3. b^ Qualified through the back-up jury selection
  4. d^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  5. e^ Contains one phrase in Italian
  6. f^ All conductors are of Croatian nationality unless otherwise noted.
  7. g^ Also conducted in the prequalifying round
  8. h^ Conducted by Stipica Kalogjera at the national final.
  9. i^ Conducted by Stipica Kalogjera at the national final.
  10. j^ Conducted by Silvije Glojnarić at the national final.
  11. k^ The spokesperson from the prequalifying round was Ksenija Urličić.
  12. l^ In 2014, HRT screened only the grand final. The semi-finals were not screened.

Photo gallery.

Awards.

Marcel Bezençon Awards. 

Year Category Performer Song Composer(s)
lyrics (l) / music (m)		 Final
result		 Points Host city
2024 Press Award Baby Lasagna “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” Marko Purišić 2 547 Sweden Malmö

Winners by OGAE members. 

Year Song Performer OGAE Result Points Final Result Points Host city
2024 “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” Baby Lasagna 1 356 2 547 Sweden Malmö

Barbara Dex Award. 

Year Performer Host city
2016 Nina Kraljić Sweden Stockholm

• ARTISTS:

• BACKINGS/DANCERS: 

• COMPOSERS:

• LYRICISTS:

• CONDUCTOR: 

• STAGE DIRECTORS:

• SPOKESPERSON:

• COMMENTATORS:

• JURY MEMBERS:

Conductors. 

Year Conductor[f] Notes
1993 Andrej Baša [g]
1994 Miljenko Prohaska
1995 Stipica Kalogjera
1996 Alan Bjelinski
1997 No conductor
1998 Stipica Kalogjera
1999 No orchestra [h]
2000
2001 [i]
2002
2003 [j]

Heads of delegation. Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU’s contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others.

Year Head of delegation
1993–2000 Ksenija Urličić
2001–2013 Aleksandar “Aco” Kostadinov
2016 Željko Mesar
2017–2018 Tomislav Štengl
2019 Elizabeth Homsi
2020–2021 Uršula Tolj
2022– Tomislav Štengl

Commentators and spokespersons. For the show’s broadcast on HRT, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Croatian language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.

From 1961 until 1991, Croatia was part of Yugoslavia and TV Zagreb, the affiliate of JRT in the socialist republic, broadcast the contest with Croatian commentary.

Year Commentator(s) Spokesperson
Channel Television commentator Channel Radio commentator
1993 HTV 1 Aleksandar Kostadinov No broadcast Velimir Đuretić[k]
1994 HRT 1 Helga Vlahović
1995 Daniela Trbović
1996
1997 Davor Meštrović
1998
1999 Marko Rašica
2000 Unknown
2001 Daniela Trbović
2002 Ante Batinović Duško Čurlić
2003 Daniela Trbović  Unknown Davor Meštrović
2004 Unknown Unknown No broadcast Barbara Kolar
2005 HRT 2 (semi-final)
HRT 1 (final)
2006 Duško Čurlić Mila Horvat
2007 HRT 1 (all shows) Barbara Kolar
2008 HRT 2 (semi-finals)
HRT 1 (final)
2009 Mila Horvat
2010
2011 HRT 1 (all shows) Nevena Rendeli
2012
2013 HRT 2 (semi-finals)
HRT 1 (final)		 HR 2 (final) Robert Urlić Uršula Tolj
2014[l] HRT 1 (final) Aleksandar Kostadinov Aleksandar Kostadinov Did not participate
2015 No broadcast
2016 HRT 1 (all shows) Duško Čurlić HR 2 (all shows) Zlatko Turkalj Nevena Rendeli
2017 Uršula Tolj
2018 Duško Čurlić
2019 Monika Lelas Halambek
2020 Not announced before cancellation N/A
2021 HRT 1 (all shows) Duško Čurlić HR 2 (all shows) Unknown Ivan Dorian Molnar
2022 Zlatko Turkalj
2023 Unknown Maja Ciglenečki
2024 Zlatko Turkalj Ivan Dorian Molnar

Croatia’s average distribution of the given points (2010-2016)

# 2010 2010 SF2 2011 2011 SF1 2012 2012 SF2 2013 2013 SF1 2016 2016 * 2016 SF1 2016 SF1 * Total Partici-
pations		 Average
1 Serbia 8 X 8 12 12 10 X 10 2 12 X X 74 8 9,25
2 Bosnia & Herzegovina 10 X 7 X 10 12 X X X X 4 12 55 6 9,17
3 Australia X X X X X X X X 12 5 X X 17 2 8,50
4 Slovenia X 5 12 X X 8 X 5 X X X X 30 4 7,50
5 North Macedonia X X X X 8 7 X X X X X X 15 2 7,50
6 Czech Republic X X X X X X X X 10 12 4 26 4 6,50
7 Albania 5 X X 7 5 X X X X X X X 17 3 5,67
8 Russia X 5 6 X 6 8 6 8 6 10 55 10 5,50
9 Denmark 2 4 X X 10 12 X X X X 28 6 4,67
10 Ukraine 6 5 X 1 12 7 10 X X 41 9 4,56
11 Hungary X X 6 X 4 X 5 3 8 8 34 8 4,25
12 Turkey 12 8 X X X X X X X 20 5 4,00
13 Azerbaijan 10 10 10 X 7 X 3 40 10 4,00
14 Montenegro X X X X X X X 6 X X 6 12 3 4,00
15 Sweden X 2 4 X 7 6 1 X 7 X X 27 7 3,86
16 Cyprus 4 12 X X X X 1 10 2 29 8 3,63
17 Austria X X 3 X X X X 4 6 7 20 6 3,33
18 France 3 X 6 X X X 8 2 X X 19 6 3,17
19 Italy X X X 2 X 8 X 3 X X 13 5 2,60
20 Malta X X X 4 5 X 7 1 17 8 2,13
21 Greece X 8 X 5 X X X 13 7 1,86
22 Germany 6 X 1 X 4 X X X X 11 6 1,83
23 Israel X X X X X X 7 X X 7 4 1,75
24 Georgia 7 7 X X X X 14 8 1,75
25 Ireland 1 3 X 3 X 2 X X X X 9 6 1,50
26 Armenia X X X X 4 5 3 12 8 1,50
27 Poland X X X X X X X 4 X X 4 3 1,33
28 Netherlands X X X X 2 2 5 9 8 1,13
29 Portugal X X X 3 X X X X X X 3 3 1,00
30 Lithuania X 1 2 4 X X 7 9 0,78
31 Switzerland X 2 X X X X X X X X 2 3 0,67
32 Norway X X 3 X X X X X 3 5 0,60
33 Belgium X X X X X 3 X X 3 5 0,60
34 Finland X X 3 X X X X X 3 5 0,60
35 Belarus X X X X 2 X X X X 2 4 0,50
36 San Marino X X X 1 X X X X X X 1 3 0,33
37 Moldova X X 1 X 1 X X 2 7 0,29
38 Bulgaria X X X X X X 1 X X 1 4 0,25
39 Iceland X X X X X 1 1 7 0,14

Croatia’s average distribution of the received points (2010-2016)

# Country 2010 2010 SF2 2011 2011 SF1 2012 2012 SF2 2013 2013 SF1 2016 2016 * 2016 SF1 2016 SF1 * Total Partici-
pations		 Average
1 BA Bosnia & Herzegovina X X 12 X X 4 10 5 12 X 43 11 3,91
2 RS Serbia X 12 12 10 4 X X X 38 10 3,80
3 ME Montenegro X X X X 5 6 7 8 X 26 11 2,36
4 MK North Macedonia X X 7 X 6 5 X X X 18 8 2,25
5 SI Slovenia 12 X 8 2 8 X X X 18 9 2,00
6 AT Austria X X X 5 6 7 6 X 24 12 2,00
7 CZ Czech Republic X X X X X X X 8 6 2 X 16 8 2,00
8 NL Netherlands X 3 12 5 X 20 13 1,54
9 IS Iceland X 1 X X 7 7 X 15 12 1,25
10 MT Malta X 12 X X 12 13 0,92
11 AL Albania X 7 X X X X X 7 8 0,88
12 CY Cyprus X X 1 1 7 1 X 10 12 0,83
13 UA Ukraine X 1 6 X X X 7 9 0,78
14 RU Russia X 1 X 4 1 4 X 10 13 0,77
15 MD Moldova X X X 1 5 2 X 8 12 0,67
16 FR France X X X 6 1 X 7 12 0,58
17 FI Finland X X X 5 2 X 7 12 0,58
18 AM Armenia 7 X X X 2 3 X 5 11 0,45
19 IL Israel X X X 3 X X X 3 7 0,43
20 SM San Marino X 4 X X 1 X 5 12 0,42
21 AZ Azerbaijan 1 4 X X X 4 12 0,33
22 GR Greece X X X 4 X 4 12 0,33
23 SE Sweden X 3 1 X 4 13 0,31
24 AU Australia X X X X X X X 1 X X X 1 4 0,25
25 HU Hungary X X X 3 X 3 12 0,25
26 EE Estonia X X 3 X 3 13 0,23
27 GE Georgia X 2 X X X 2 9 0,22
28 ES Spain X X X 2 X 2 12 0,17
29 DE Germany X X 1 X X X X 1 8 0,13
30 IE Ireland 1 X X 1 X X X 1 8 0,13
31 BY Belarus X X 1 X X X 1 9 0,11
32 LT Lithuania 1 X X X 1 10 0,10
33 GB United Kingdom 1 X X X 1 10 0,10

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