The Croatian representatives Lelek are “disturbed” by the comment by the Israeli broadcaster KAN, taking to social media to express their dissatisfaction.
Lelek have posted on social media that they are “disturbed” by a social media post from the Israeli broadcaster KAN, which was posted during the first Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The post that Lelek are referencing is a screenshot of Lelek’s performance with the caption “When you overdo it with the henna tattoos in Eilat”. The group has responded by saying:
“We are disturbed by the comments made by the Israeli broadcaster KAN, in which our culture and the sacrifices made by oppressed Catholic women were mocked. It is especially disturbing to ridicule women singing about female pain and suffering while showing such a complete lack of empathy and respect for the suffering of others.”
The Israeli broadcaster has previously been criticised by other competing acts and broadcasters for comments on social media or comments from their commentators during the show. It is not known whether the matter has been raised by the Croatian broadcaster HRT with the Israeli broadcaster KAN.
Representing Croatia at this year’s contest are Lelek with song “Andromeda”. Lelek won Dora 2026 both with the jury and the public votes. They qualified from Semi-Final One of Eurovision 2026 and their position in the final will be determined by the shows Producers.
Source: Lelek
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 2024 when Baby Lasgana finished 2nd in Malmö. He performed the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” which scored a total of 547 points, including 12 points from the juries in Cyprus and Serbia, and 9 sets of 12 points from the public vote. Croatia returned to the contest in 2016 having withdrawn after the 2013 contest due to a string of poor results and financial difficulties.