Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Croatia in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2026
Eurovision Song Contest 2026
Participating broadcasterCroatian Radiotelevision (HRT)
Country Croatia
Selection processDora 2026
Selection date15 February 2026
Competing entry
Song"Andromeda"
ArtistLelek
Songwriters
Placement
Semi-final resultQualified (6th, 175 points)
Final result15th, 124 points
Participation chronology
◄2025 • 2026

Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "Andromeda", written by Filip Lacković, Lazar Pajić, Tomislav Roso and Zorica Pajić, and performed by the band Lelek. The Croatian participating broadcaster, Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), organised the national final Dora 2026 in order to select its entry for the contest.

Background

Prior to the 2026 contest, Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Croatia 30 times since its first entry in 1993. Its best result in the contest was second, achieved in 2024 with the song "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" performed by Baby Lasagna. This was also its first top-five finish since "Marija Magdalena" by Doris Dragović in 1999. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Croatia had thus far featured in nine finals.[1] In 2025, Croatia failed to qualify to the final with Marko Bošnjak and the song "Poison Cake".[1]

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, HRT organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. HRT confirmed its participation in the 2026 contest on 22 September 2025.[2] Between 1993 and 2011, HRT organised the national final Dora in order to select its entry. In 2012 and 2013, the broadcaster opted to internally select its entry and continued the internal selection procedure from 2016 to 2018 after missing the contest in 2014 and 2015. Since 2019, it returned to use Dora to select its entry, a method that was continued for its 2026 participation.[2][3]

Before Eurovision

Dora 2026

Dora 2026 was the twenty-seventh edition of the national selection Dora, organised by HRT to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The competition took place at the HRT studios in Zagreb, and consisted of two semi-finals and a final in February 2026.[4][5]

Competing entries

On 22 September 2025, HRT opened a submission period where artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster with the deadline on 23 November 2025.[3] 251 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period, a new record since Dora was relaunched in 2019.[6][7] A seven-member expert committee consisting of Tihomir Preradović (composer and music producer), Denis Mujadžić (composer and music producer), Ivana Kindl (singer), Mia Negovetić (singer, composer, voice actress), Monika Lelas Halambek (radio host and editor), Jelena Balent (music editor and singer) and Davor Medaković (music editor) reviewed the received submissions and selected twenty-four artists and songs as well as four backup entries for the competition.[8] HRT announced the competing entries on 3 December 2025.[9] On 10 December 2025, HRT announced that Karolina Ilić was disqualified from the competition due to not being a Croatian citizen, and that she would be replaced by Gabrijel Ivić.[10][11]

  Entry disqualified   Replacement entry

Dora 2026 contestants
Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Alen Đuras "From Ashes to Flame"
  • Alen Đuras
  • Siniša Reljić Simba
Ananda "Dora"
  • Ananda Đuranović
  • Diogo Guerra
  • Dora Pejačević
  • Tchiah Ommar Abdulrahman
  • Ynke Dingenen
Cold Snap "Mucho Macho"
  • Jan Kerekeš
  • Josip Novak
Devin "Over Me" Devin Juraj
Ema Bubić "Vrijeme za nas" Lara Pilepić
Fenksta "Memento mori"
  • Abby Dank
  • Emma Gale
  • Saša Stević
Fran Uccellini "Ako bolje bude sutra" Fran Uccellini
Gabrijel Ivić "Light Up"
  • Gabrijel Ivić
  • Jun Ishida
Irma "Ni traga"
  • Anja Grabovac
  • Jan Jakovljev
Ivan Sever "Crying Eyes"
  • Aidan O'Connor
  • Ivan Sever
  • John Doherty
Jasmina Makota "Higher"
  • Jasmina Makota
  • Marin Hraščanec
Kandžija "3 ujutro" Stjepko Galović
Karolina Ilić "Breathe Her In"
  • Karolina Ilić
  • Gabriel Ottosson
Lana Mandarić "Tama"
  • Lana Mandarić
  • Zorana Šiljeg
Lara Demarin "Mantra"
  • Ananda Đuranović
  • Lara Demarin
  • Luka Demarin
Lelek "Andromeda"
Lima Len "Raketa"
  • Alen Kozić
  • Damir Božanić
Marko Kutlić "Neotuđivo" Marko Kutlić
Noelle "Uninterrupted"
  • Bonnie Max
  • Filipe Nicolau
  • Ivana Crnković
  • Larissa Tormey
  • Rebecca Lane
Ritam Noir "Profumi di mare" Moris Orbanić
Sergej "Scream"
  • Laura Sučec
  • Matej Magdić
  • Sergej Božić
Stela Rade "Nema te"
  • Anja Grabovac
  • Jan Jakovljev
ToMa "Ledina"
  • Jan Jakovljev
  • Tomislav Marić
Toni Sky "O ne!" Toni Volar
Zevin "My Mind"
  • Jernej Drnovšek
  • Nives Cilenšek
Backup entries
# Artist Song Songwriter(s)
1 Gabrijel Ivić "Light Up"
  • Gabrijel Ivić
  • Jun Ishida
2 Dorian Stipčić "Loved"
  • Ema Dujmović
3 Bria "Soho"
  • Lukša Vučlč
  • Montana
  • Branimir Ančlć
4 Vanessa Kralj "Tišina prije kiše"
  • Vanessa Kraij
  • Hrvoje Domazet
  • Ante Domazet

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place on 12 and 13 February 2026 respectively. Twelve acts competed in each semi-final, with the top eight entries qualifying for the final.

Semi-final 1 – 12 February 2026
R/O Artist Song Televote Place
Phone SMS Total
1 Lima Len "Raketa" 1,913 1,376 3,289 4
2 Jasmina Makota "Higher" 487 474 961 11
3 Ananda "Dora" 658 926 1,584 8
4 Toni Sky "O ne!" 363 333 696 12
5 Fran Uccellini "Ako bolje bude sutra" 640 634 1,274 9
6 Ema Bubić "Vrijeme za nas" 1,313 968 2,281 6
7 Noelle "Uninterrupted" 1,087 915 2,002 7
8 Alen Đuras "From Ashes to Flame" 1,709 822 2,531 5
9 Fenksta "Memento mori" 635 602 1,237 10
10 Cold Snap "Mucho Macho" 2,851 3,882 6,733 2
11 ToMa "Ledina" 2,126 1,564 3,690 3
12 Lelek "Andromeda" 4,767 4,819 9,586 1
Semi-final 2 – 13 February 2026
R/O Artist Song Televote Place
Phone SMS Total
1 Ritam Noir "Profumi di mare" 2,755 1,829 4,584 1
2 Irma "Ni traga" 1,514 1,131 2,645 6
3 Gabrijel Ivić "Light Up" 467 545 1,012 12
4 Zevin "My Mind" 1,127 880 2,007 9
5 Ivan Sever "Crying Eyes" 909 807 1,716 10
6 Lana Mandarić "Tama" 561 1,804 2,365 8
7 Stela Rade "Nema te" 2,442 1,710 4,152 2
8 Devin "Over Me" 1,664 1,609 3,273 4
9 Kandžija "3 ujutro" 643 1,039 1,682 11
10 Marko Kutlić "Neotuđivo" 1,777 1,395 3,172 5
11 Sergej "Scream" 1,388 1,128 2,516 7
12 Lara Demarin "Mantra" 1,874 1,710 3,584 3

Final

The final took place on 15 February 2026 and featured the 16 qualifiers from the preceding two semi-finals. The winner, "Andromeda" performed by Lelek, was decided by a combination of votes from a professional jury and the Croatian public via televoting.

Final – 15 February 2026
R/O Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Phone SMS Total Points
1 Ananda "Dora" 13 1,117 1,140 2,257 7 20 15
2 Sergej "Scream" 33 1,820 1,144 2,964 9 42 10
3 Noelle "Uninterrupted" 27 2,014 1,488 3,502 11 38 13
4 Alen Đuras "From Ashes to Flame" 41 3,111 1,620 4,731 15 56 7
5 Irma "Ni traga" 32 1,999 1,592 3,591 11 43 8
6 Lara Demarin "Mantra" 22 2,848 2,756 5,604 18 40 12
7 Ema Bubić "Vrijeme za nas" 3 1,728 1,188 2,916 9 12 16
8 Lima Len "Raketa" 20 6,297 4,903 11,200 36 56 6
9 Lana Mandarić "Tama" 21 988 2,483 3,471 11 32 14
10 Ritam Noir "Profumi di mare" 5 6,086 4,864 10,950 35 40 11
11 Marko Kutlić "Neotuđivo" 20 3,902 3,091 6,993 22 42 9
12 Devin "Over Me" 22 6,157 6,177 12,334 39 61 5
13 Lelek "Andromeda" 77 14,075 15,990 30,065 96 173 1
14 ToMa "Ledina" 44 5,232 3,303 8,535 27 71 4
15 Stela Rade "Nema te" 46 8,379 6,238 14,617 47 93 3
16 Cold Snap "Mucho Macho" 38 9,274 12,593 21,867 70 108 2
Detailed jury results
R/O Song Regional juries International juries Total
Zagreb
Split
Rijeka
Osijek
Luxembourg
Norway
San Marino
United Kingdom
1 "Dora" 3 8 2 13
2 "Scream" 4 1 6 1 5 2 10 4 33
3 "Uninterrupted" 2 2 3 3 5 12 27
4 "From Ashes to Flame" 10 5 8 6 4 5 3 41
5 "Ni traga" 7 1 2 8 6 7 1 32
6 "Mantra" 4 4 7 1 6 22
7 "Vrijeme za nas" 3 3
8 "Raketa" 8 2 10 20
9 "Tama" 6 10 5 21
10 "Profumi di mare" 1 4 5
11 "Neotuđivo" 6 6 2 6 20
12 "Over Me" 1 3 4 10 1 3 22
13 "Andromeda" 3 12 10 8 12 12 12 8 77
14 "Ledina" 5 7 7 7 10 8 44
15 "Nema te" 12 8 12 5 7 2 46
16 "Mucho Macho" 10 5 12 4 7 38

Ratings

Viewing figures by show[12]
Show Air date Viewership Share
(%)
Semi-final 1 12 February 2026
Semi-final 2 13 February 2026
Final 15 February 2026 36.3%

Promotion

Lelek at the PzE Afterparty event in Belgrade

As part of the promotion of their participation in the contest, Lelek attended Eurovision in Concert on 11 April 2026, London Eurovision Party on 19 April and PzE Afterparty on 22 April 2026.[13][14][15]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed to the final. On 12 January 2026, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country performed in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[16]

Semi final

Croatia was allocated for the first semi final, and later, was announced to perform in position three during the show.[17] Shortly after, the qualification–announcement segment took place, and, at the end of the segment Croatia was announced as one of the ten qualifiers, therefore, Croatia would move on onto the final,[18] after non-qualifying in 2025.

Final

Croatia performed in 13th place in the final and finished 15th overall.

Voting

Points awarded to Croatia

Points awarded by Croatia

Detailed voting results

Each participating broadcaster assembles a seven-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent and two of which have to be between 18 and 25 years old. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[21] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

The following members comprised the Croatian jury:[20]

  • Devin Juraj
  • Duško Mandić
  • Igor Barberić
  • Doris Karamatić
  • Lu Jakelić
  • Martina Validžić
  • Vlatka Kladarić
Detailed voting results from Croatia (Semi-final 1)[19]
R/O Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Juror F Juror G Rank Points Rank Points
01  Moldova936411665638
02  Sweden10783921065101
03  Croatia
04  Greece4812510477474
05  Portugal12111110310111165
06  Georgia141414141413121414
07  Finland6110241221083
08  Montenegro3137713129101210
09  Estonia139912511141292
10  Israel223923111256
11  Belgium810586589211
12  Lithuania7541112948312
13  San Marino11121313714131313
14  Poland54161733847
15  Serbia162188547112
Detailed voting results from Croatia (Final)[20]
R/O Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Juror F Juror G Rank Points Rank Points
01  Denmark110212713121012
02  Germany211117221120212219
03  Israel63157171196513
04  Belgium1691110201271523
05  Albania42332215143838
06  Greece1312718107101383
07  Ukraine1818122312212023101
08  Australia964174534774
09  Serbia817111915112112
10  Malta1171681810121418
11  Czechia10222424142282020
12  Bulgaria5215166827447
13  Croatia
14  United Kingdom23166151616131822
15  France21392022258311
16  Moldova719104314910156
17  Finland388149345692
18  Poland141135154179214
19  Lithuania19242319216242121
20  Sweden15142013131861716
21  Cyprus201522211923222415
22  Italy2221465192311210
23  Norway1741832417111217
24  Romania1220219824181965
25  Austria24519112311161624

References

  1. 1 2 "Croatia – Participation history". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (22 September 2025). "Croatia: HRT confirms participation at Eurovision 2026". ESCToday. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Otvoren natječaj za DORU 2026". Hrvatska radiotelevizija (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "Croatia prepares for Eurovision selection as Dora 2026 finalists revealed". Croatia Week. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "Croatia: Dora 2026". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Conte, Davide (24 November 2025). "🇭🇷 Croatia: Record Number of Applications for Dora 2026". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "Croatia's 'Dora' lineup revealed". Eurovision Song Contest. 16 December 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "Dora 2026.: 24 pjesme u utrci za Eurosong". Hrvatska radiotelevizija (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  9. ↑ De-re, Julien (3 December 2025). "🇭🇷 Croatia: Dora 2026 Participants Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  10. ↑ Conte, Davide (10 December 2025). "🇭🇷 Croatia: Karolina Ilić Disqualified from Dora 2026". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  11. ↑ "Gabrijel Ivić na Dori 2026. s pjesmom "Light Up" umjesto Karoline Ilić". Hrvatska radiotelevizija (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  12. ↑ "HRT-ovo finale Dore 2026. najgledaniji sadržaj na svim televizijama". Hrvatska radiotelevizija (in Croatian). 16 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  13. ↑ Bird, Lisa (24 February 2026). "Croatia's Lelek to perform at Eurovision in Concert 2026". Escxtra.com. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  14. ↑ Ljuština, Stevan (23 April 2026). "Rodila se srpska predevrovizijska žurka". Evrovizija.rs. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Granger, Anthony (20 April 2026). "London Eurovision Party 2026 – Performances Overview". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "The Semi-Final Draw for Vienna 2026: All you need to know". Eurovision.com. EBU. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Running Orders revealed". Eurovision Song Contest. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Eurovision 2026: The First Semi-Final Qualifiers". eurovision.com. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Voting data". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  20. 1 2 3 "Voting data". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  21. ↑ "How the Eurovision Song Contest works". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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