Croatia: With Damir Kedžo at Eurovision 2021

Shortly after the official cancellation of this year’s Eurovision Contest in Rotterdam, another artist is added to the list of 2021 participants!

Announcing on his Instagram account, Damir Kedžo, who was due to represent Croatia with the song “Divlji vjetre“, said he was saddened by the decision, wishing the soon-to-end global pandemic would end, and renewed his appointment with the Eurofans in 2021 in Rotterdam.

Check out the post below:

View this post on Instagram

Eurovision je ostvarenje mog sna i jedva čekam stati i zapjevati na toj velikoj pozornici jednog dana. U normalnim uvjetima Eurovizija je veselje glazbe u kojem uživa Europa i veliki dio svijeta. Nastup u prosjeku gleda 180 milijuna ljudi koji uživaju u glazbi i različitosti glazbe i kulture i to je ljepota Eurovisiona . Uvjeti u kojima se trenutačno nazali svijet nisu ni veseli ni optimistični, zastrašujući su i prioritet je sačuvati zdravlje sebe , svojih bližnjih i svih ostalih ljudi oko nas. Zato pozdravljam odluku i jedva čekam završetak pandemije , a onda i nastup na Euroviziji 2021. u Rotterdamu. Volim vas. Čuvajte se. . . . Performing on Eurovision is a dream come true and I can't wait to stand and sing on that big stage one day. Under normal circumstances , Eurovision is a joy of music enjoyed by Europe and much of the world. The show is watched on average by 180 million people who enjoy music and , diversity of music , culture and that is the beauty of Eurovision. The conditions in which the world is currently are neither cheerful nor optimistic, they are daunting and it is a priority to preserve the health of ourselves , our loved ones and all the people around us. That is why I welcome the decision of cancellation and I cannot wait for the end of the pandemic and Eurovision 2021 performance in Rotterdam. Love you all. Take care

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Croatia: Listen to the final version of “Divlji old”!

Through his personal YouTube account, Croatia’s representative at Eurovision 2020, Damir Kedžo, has released the final version of the song to compete in the competition, “Divlji old”.

Damir Kedžo won the right to represent his country in Rotterdam literally on the thread, having won the televising by just 260 votes! It should be recalled that the committee voted first for Mia Negovetic and second for Damir Kedžo.

Croatia: Goran Karan withdraws from Dora 2020

A few hours after Croatia’s public broadcaster, HRT, announced the participants of the Dora 2020, the national final through which the country will select the country’s representative in Eurovision 2020, Goran Karan announced his withdrawal.

Goran Karan, who represented Croatia at Eurovision in 2000, explained the reasons for leaving Dora 2020:

“The song “My Legacy Is Love” in the format sent to Dora differs significantly in the lyrics, music, orchestration and duration from what I sang at my concert in Visoki, Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, in order to avoid all possible misunderstanding, I decided to withdraw the song “My Legacy Is Love” from Dora. In this way I want to close any point of contention and misunderstanding, since, as the verse says, “my heritage is love”

Goran Karan

After Goran Karan’s withdrawment, he was replaced by Elis Lovrić with the song Jušto. Now, the list of 16 candidates for Dora 2020 is as follows:

  1. Marin Jurić Čivro – Naivno
  2. Edi Abazi – Coming home
  3. Mia Negovetić – When it Comes to You
  4. Colonia – Zidina
  5. Zdenka Kovačićek – Love, Love, Love
  6. Lorenzo feat Dino Purić & Reper iz sobe – Vrati se iz Irske
  7. Jure Brkljača – Hajde nazovi me!
  8. Damir Kedžo – Divlji vjetre
  9. Lorena Bućan – Drowning
  10. Alen Vitasović & B. Matija Čerina – Da se ne zatare
  11. Aklea Neon – Zovi ju mama
  12. Indira – You Will Never Break My Heart
  13. Nikola Marjanović – Let’s forgive
  14. Đana – One
  15. Bojan Jambrošić – Više od riječi
  16. Elis Lovrić – Jušto

The final of Dora 2020 will take place in the city of Opatija on February 29, with the winner to represent the country in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest and emerge after the jury and the television audience vote.

The national final Dora was the main selection process for the Croatian envoy from 1993 to 2011, and returned in 2019 to select Roko and “The Dream” song, but failed to win the gold ticket for the Grand Final after reaching the 14th place in the semifinal with 64 points.

Source: escbubble

Croatia: Uršula Tolj appointed as the New Head of Delegation

Another new Head of Delegation was announced yesterday, this time from Croatia. The country’s public broadcaster at a special press conference for “Dora 2020”, which will select Croatia’s representative for the second consecutive time, announced that Uršula Tolj will be the new HoD!

Uršula Tolj has been working on Croatian public television since 1996. She was the producer of Dora 2019 and one of the key contributors to Dora’s return as a method of selecting Croatia’s participation in the contest. In addition to television, Uršula also writes children’s stories.

Dora 2020 will take place in Opatija on February 29. 16 songs will compete for the television audience and jury votes. The winner will be honored to represent Croatia in Rotterdam in May.

In Tel Aviv, Croatia was represented by Roko Blažević with the song “The Dream”, composed by Jacques Houdek, who represented Croatia at Eurovision 2017. Unfortunately, he was ranked 14th in the second semifinal and thus did not qualify for the final.

Source: eurovoix.com

Croatia: Dora 2020 on February 29th | Through Dora at Eurovision 2021 as well

The head of production company Opatija 21, which was responsible for organizing this year’s Dora as well as the Dora 2020, revealed that the selection of Croatian participation for Eurovision 2020 will take place in the city of Opatija on February 29th.

The deadline for submitting applications for Dora 2020 has already begun, and it appears that Croatian public broadcaster has already signed an agreement with Opatija 21 to co-operate in organizing Dora in Opatija in 2021.

The same company helped the municipality of Opatija to bring Dora to their town.

“We have reached the end of negotiations to sign a private agreement for a two-year partnership with HRT Public Television for the coming years”

(Igor Stok on behalf of Opatija 21 for Dora 2020-2021)

In his interview, Igos Stok revealed that the agreement states that the Dora 2020 will take place on February 29 in Opatija. So far there has been no official confirmation by Croatian public television.

In Tel Aviv, Croatia was represented by Roko Blažević with the song “The Dream”, composed by Jacques Houdek, who represented Croatia at Eurovision 2017. Unfortunately, he was ranked 14th in the second semifinal and so did not qualify for the final.

Source:eurosong.hr

Croatia: Through “Dora” the selection of participation |Submissions to start on November 5th

Croatian Public Television (HRT) announced recently that the country’s participation in Eurovision 2020 will be selected through “Dora” next year.

Interested creators can submit their entries online from November 5 until December 15. A panel of HRT will select the 16 best songs to compete at Dora 2020, which will bring the Croatian representative to Rotterdam.

In Tel Aviv, Croatia was represented by Roko Blažević with the song “The Dream”, composed by Jacques Houdek, who represented Croatia at Eurovision 2017. Unfortunately, he was ranked 14th in the second semifinal and thus did not qualify for the final.

Source: HRT

Croatia: the participation in Eurovision 2020 still uncertain

Croatia‘s participation in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in May 2020 in the Netherlands is unclear.

Croatian public broadcaster HRT, speaking on the ESCXTRA website, said they still can not confirm their presence in the next contest. More information was not provided, which suggests the country’s withdrawal from the upcoming event, as a possible scenario, considering the bad results of the last two years.

However, as announced earlier, the Croatian capital, Zagreb will host the Eurovision Song Contest for young musicians in 2020, which may work for or against the above decision.

If Croatia withdraws, it will follow the example of Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovakia, who have been reluctant to return to Eurovision 2020.

This year, Roko represented by Croatia, with “The Dream“, where he finished in  14th place with 64 points in the Second Semi-final without being able to qualify for the Final.