HRT, the Croatian national broadcaster, has revealed that they are planning format changes for Dora 2023.
In an interview on Music Pub Zlatka Turkalja on HR 2, Tomislav Štengl, Head of Delegation for Croatia, revealed that there are some changes being planned for Dora 2023. The first change is that the songs will be released earlier than in previous years, with all artists required to make a music or lyric video for their entries.
Another planned change is to add two semi-finals to Dora 2023. Štengl explained:
“The intention is to have more evenings, to have more songs in this selection, a maximum of 28. We would therefore have two semi-finals and a final.”
Štengl also revealed that HRT is actively urging as many artists as they can to apply to Dora.
“At HRT, we are trying to motivate as many people as possible to contact us. We spoke with the Croatian Composers’ Society, the Croatian Music Union, and Croatian publishers to motivate their singers and composers to submit as many songs as possible.
This year we are in negotiations to find ways to motivate singers and composers. We want there to be some kind of financial rewards. Whoever wins will have their performance at Dora and their financial stake in everything they had to invest in order to perform covered by HRT.”
HRT also plan to introduce the Dora 2023 entries to the public on special television shows.
“Our idea is to play these videos on some television shows, which will be dedicated only to Dora. Another thing is that people are simply informed. We go by the principle that if the Eurovision works in such a way that for two and a half months we all know those songs, hear them, then Eurovision is a success. That can also work for Dora.
It is always interesting to see how a team of composers will work out their song for a performance on a big stage, so it can be the same at Dora. We hope that all this together creates some kind of path that should take us from the semi-finals to the final.”
The final of Dora 2023 will take place in Opatija in February 2023. The submission window for Dora 2023 is currently open and will remain open until November 20.
Mia Dimšić represented Croatia at Eurovision 2022 with the song “Guilty Pleasure”. She narrowly missed out on qualification, finishing in 11th in the first semi-final.
Image Source: EBU / Nathan Reinds | Source: Eurosong.hr
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 Dragović finished 4th in Jerusalem. She performed the song “Marija Magdalena” which scored a total of 118 points, including 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.
