Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996

Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "Sveta ljubav", written by Zrinko Tutić, and performed by Maja Blagdan. The Croatian participating broadcaster, Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT), selected its entry through Dora 1996.

Eurovision Song Contest 1996
Participating broadcaster	Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT)
Country	Croatia
National selection
Selection process	Dora 1996
Selection date(s)	3 March 1996
Selected artist(s)	Maja Blagdan
Selected song	"Sveta ljubav"
Selected songwriter(s)	Zrinko Tutić
Placement
Final result	4th, 98 points
Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1995 • 1996 • 1997►

Before Eurovision

Dora 1996

Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT) organised Dora 1996 to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. The national selection, held on 3 March 1996 in Opatija, consisted of a televised final with 20 songs selected from a public call for submissions from songwriters and composers. The winner was chosen by 20 regional juries.^[1]

Final – 3 March 1996

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Alen Vitasović	"Marija"	18	13
2	Erwin	"Uvijek ti"	16	14
3	Novi fosili	"Spray"	76	6
4	Leo	"Postojiš samo ti"	11	15
5	Srebrna krila	"Divno je znati da netko te voli"	52	9
6	Juci	"Moja posljednja molitva"	4	19
7	Marinella and Tutti Frutti	"Sjeti se"	137	3
8	Massimo	"Kao more"	33	12
9	Branimir Mihaljević	"Zbog ljubavi"	39	11
10	Giuliano	"Sjaj u očima otkriva te"	104	5
11	Ivana Banfić and Rene Cooler	"Dani ludila"	1	20
12	Renata Kos	"O mama, mama"	10	17
13	Maja Blagdan	"Sveta ljubav"	214	1
14	Divas	"Sexy Cool"	50	10
15	Jelena	"Aha"	156	2
16	Naim Ayra	"Dvije ruže"	10	17
17	Ivan Mikulić	"Budi ona prava"	55	8
18	Zrinka	"Tako sam ranjiva"	106	4
19	Petar Grašo	"Otkada nije mi tu"	57	7
20	Sandra Sagena	"Ne želim biti dama"	11	15

Detailed Regional Jury Votes

Draw	Song	Bjelovar	Dubrovnik	Gospić	Knin	Krapina	Metković	Okučani	Osijek	Pazin	Petrinja	Pula	Rijeka	Slavonski Brod	Split	Šibenik	Varaždin	Vinkovci	Zadar	Zagreb	Županja	Total
1	"Marija"									7		4	3		1	3						18
2	"Uvijek ti"					8			4			1	1				2					16
3	"Spray"	5	1	4	1	5	1	3	6		1	10	5	7	5	6	6			4	6	76
4	"Postojiš"		2				3										4				2	11
5	"Divno je znati da netko te voli"		3	7				4		3	6	5		4	7		8			2	3	52
6	"Moja posljednja molitva"					4																4
7	"Sjeti se"	6	12	5	7	1	8	10	5	10	7	12	6	5	6	7	3	10	3	7	7	137
8	"Kao more"		4		2						2				3				12	6	4	33
9	"Zbog ljubavi"			3		7			2	1				2				8	8		8	39
10	"Sjaj u očima otkriva te"	7	8	10	6	2	7	7	1		4	6		6	10	12	1	4	5	3	5	104
11	"Dani ludila"																			1		1
12	"O mama, mama"							1		2						1		6				10
13	"Sveta ljubav"	12	10	12	10	10	12	8	10	12	12	8	12	12	12	10	10	12	6	12	12	214
14	"Sexy Cool"		5		4		4		3		5		4			8		5	2	10		50
15	"Aha"	10	7	6	12	12	5	12	7	8	10	3	10	8	4	5	12	7	10	8		156
16	"Dvije ruže"	2											8									10
17	"Budi ona prava"	3		1	3		10	2	8	5			2	3		4	5	2	7			55
18	"Tako sam ranjiva"	4	6	8	8	6	6	5		4	8		7	10	8	2	7	1	1	5	10	106
19	"Otkada nije mi tu"	8		2		3		6	12	6	3	7		1	2			3	4			57
20	"Ne želim biti dama"	1			5		2					2									1	11

At Eurovision

In 1996, for the only time in Eurovision history, an audio-only qualifying round of the 29 songs entered (excluding hosts Norway who were exempt) was held in March in order for the seven lowest-scoring songs to be eliminated before the final. "Sveta ljubav" received 30 points, placing 19th and thus qualifying for the final.^[2]

On the night of the contest Maja Blagdan performed 7th, following Malta and preceding the Austria. The song received 98 points at the close of the voting, placing 4th of 23 countries competing.^[3][4] Until 2024, this was Croatia's joint-best placing at the contest, shared with the Croatian 1999 entry, "Marija Magdalena" by Doris Dragović.

Voting

Qualifying round

Points awarded to Croatia (qualifying round)[5] Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points  Sweden 7 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 points  Slovenia 5 points 4 points 3 points  Macedonia 2 points  Germany 1 point  Austria  Malta  Russia  Spain

Points awarded by Croatia (qualifying round)[5] Score Country 12 points  Slovakia 10 points  Malta 8 points  Spain 7 points  Greece 6 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 points  Slovenia 4 points  Turkey 3 points  Hungary 2 points  Macedonia 1 point  United Kingdom

Final

Points awarded to Croatia (final)[6] Score Country 12 points 10 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Portugal 8 points  Cyprus  Turkey 7 points  Malta  Norway 6 points  Estonia  Ireland 5 points  Iceland  Netherlands  Slovakia  Spain 4 points  Belgium  United Kingdom 3 points  Slovenia 2 points  Poland 1 point  Greece  Sweden   Switzerland

Points awarded by Croatia (final)[6] Score Country 12 points  Malta 10 points  Portugal 8 points  Cyprus 7 points  United Kingdom 6 points  Slovenia 5 points  Norway 4 points  Spain 3 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 points  Belgium 1 point  Turkey

References

1. "CROATIAN NATIONAL FINAL 1996".
2. Roxburgh, Gordon (2020). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Four: The 1990s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 255–261. ISBN 978-1-84583-163-9.
3. "Final of Oslo 1996". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
4. Barclay, Simon (19 July 2009). The Complete and Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-4092-8989-0.
5. Roxburgh, Gordon (2020). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Four: The 1990s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-84583-163-9.
6. "Results of the Final of Oslo 1996". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

External links

• Dora 1996 at the Eurofest Croatia website (in Croatian)