Local media in Croatia are reporting that Dora will select the Croatian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon.
It is reported that the festival is due to make a return for the first time since 2011 and would take place at the end of February or the beginning of March. The host venue for the selection will reportedly be confirmed by mid-January. While HRT would like Dora to remain in Opatija, where every edition of the festival was held, it may be move to Zagreb due to it being five times cheaper to host it there rather than its traditional home.
Further reports suggest that Dora 2018 will consist of two shows: a semi-final and a final. In both shows, the results will be decided by a combination of jury and public voting.
HRT have yet to confirm whether or not they will use Dora to select their entrant for the 2018 contest. The official details on how the Croatian entry for Lisbon are expected to be released in due course.
Dora was previously used to select every Croatian entry from the country’s debut in 1993 until 2011. HRT cancelled the selection after 2011, citing Croatia’s poor results in the last ten years and decreasing public interest. All Croatian entries since then have been chosen through internal selection.
Source: Jutarnji
Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Croatia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993, they were one of three countries to debut in the contest that year. Croatia’s best result came in 1999 when Doris Dragovic finished 4th in Jerusalem. She performed the song “Marija Magdalena” which scored a total of 118 points, this included 12 points from Slovenia and Spain. Croatia returned to the contest in 2016 having withdrawn after the 2013 contest due to a string of poor results and financial difficulties.
