HRT has confirmed that Dora 2026, the Croatian selection for Eurovision 2026, will be held in Zagreb.
Dora is set to return to the Croatian capital as part of efficiency measures for 2026. Dora has traditionally been held in the coastal town of Opatija, having been held in Zagreb seven times previously, the last time being in 2024.
In a statement, HRT explained:
The decision was made by the Croatian Radio and Television with the aim of improving production and organizational conditions and further developing the project. In its statement, HRT thanks the City of Opatija for its long-standing hospitality and successful cooperation and confirms the continuation of partnership relations, as well as cooperation on future projects with the City of Opatija.
Dora 2026 will be broadcast live on HTV programs, the HRTi platform and the HRT website, and the competition will take place in February 2026. Also, due to the special year in which HRT celebrates the 100th anniversary of radio and the 70th anniversary of television, and due to other major events such as the Winter Olympics and the World Cup, it was decided to change the venue – this year in Zagreb.
Following the closure of song submissions on November 23, an expert jury will select 24 songs to compete in Dora 2026, as well as four reserve songs in case any song is withdrawn. Dora 2026 will take place in February 2026. The winner will represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.
Marko Bošnjak represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel with “Poison Cake”. He finished 12th in Semi-Final 1, scoring 28 points, 12 of which came from the Slovene public vote. He failed to qualify for the final.
Source: Opatija
Croatia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent country 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 Croatia returned to the contest in 2016, having withdrawn after the 2013 contest due to a string of poor results and financial difficulties.
