Rehearsals are well and truly under way at the M and S Bank arena in Liverpool and while the first week’s rehearsals are closed to press and fan media ,meaning that we are unable to bring you our usual live blogs of the rehearsals, we at Eurovision Ireland decided to take a look at the highs and lows of each country competing in Eurovision this year. So far we have covered Albania, Armenia , Australia, Azerbaijan , Austria and Belgium . Today we are going to focus on Croatia.

When did Croatia first participate at Eurovision ?

Croatia’s first entrant at Eurovision, as an independent country, probably seems very tame compared to their present day selection ! The country made its debut in the 1993 contest , when the band Put with their song “Don’t ever cry” sang in Millstreet, Ireland. Croatia had previously taken part when the country was part of Yugoslavia .They finished 15th with 31 points.

Croatia’s highest point at Eurovision

Croatia have yet to win the contest . Since their first participation in 1993, their best results have been 4th place in 1996, when Maja Blagdan reached an extremely high note while singing “Sveta Ljubav” and again in 1999 when Doris Dragovic sang “Marija Magdalena”.

Croatia’s Low point at Eurovision

Since the introduction of the semi final system , Croatia have failed to qualify for the Grand Final nine times , but were unlucky to miss out the last two years when Albina in 2021 and Mia Dimisic last year placed 11th in their semi final, only just missing out on a Grand Final place. The lowest result to date for Croatia , once making it to the Grand Final was in Stockholm in 2016,when Nina Kraljic finished in 23rd place with her song “Lighthouse”.

How will Croatia do in 2023?

This year, Croatia are being represented by the band Let 3 with their song “Mama ŠČ!“. The band and their song have caused quite a stir in the media and Eurovision world with their on stage performance and the song being what the band describe as a “mocking of Europe’s dictators”. They will undoubtedly provide many a talking point of this year’s contest, be it for the right or wrong reasons. They will perform in Semi Final 1 and are 7th in the running order.Will they manage to get Croatia to the Grand Final this year?

Let us know what you think about Croatia at Eurovision in the comments box below .You can also find us on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source; Eurovision.TV, Library of Eurovision, Beovizija archives,ESClivemusic