Dora 2007

Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "", written by Dado Topić, and performed by the band Dragonfly featuring Dado Topić. The Croatian participating broadcaster, (HRT), organised the national final ''Dora 2007'' to select its entry for the contest. Thirty-two entries competed in the national final which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Eight entries qualified from each semi-final on 1 and 2 March 2007 to compete in the final on 3 March 2007. In the final, "" performed by Dragonfly featuring Dado Topić was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.

Croatia competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2007. Performing during the show in position 13, "Vjerujem u ljubav" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Croatia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. It was later revealed that Croatia placed sixteenth out of the 28 participating countries in the semi-final with 54 points.

Background

Prior to the 2007 contest, (HRT) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Croatia fourteen times since its first entry in . Its best result in the contest was fourth, achieved on two occasions: with the song "" performed by Maja Blagdan and with the song "" performed by Doris Dragović. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , it had featured in every final they participated in thus far. In , Croatia was an automatic finalist with "Moja štikla" by Severina.

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. The broadcaster confirmed its participation in the 2007 contest on 31 October 2006. Since 1993, HRT organised the national final ''Dora'' in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, a method that was continued for its 2007 participation.

Before Eurovision

''Dora 2007''

''Dora 2007'' was the fifteenth edition of the national selection ''Dora'' organised by HRT to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 1 and 2 March 2007 and a final on 3 March 2007, all taking place at the Hotel Kvarner in Opatija and broadcast on HTV 1.

Format

Thirty-two songs competed in ''Dora 2007'' which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Sixteen songs competed in each semi-final with the top eight proceeding to complete the sixteen-song lineup in the final. The results of all shows were determined by public televoting and the votes from a jury panel. The ranking developed by both streams of voting was converted to points from 1 (lowest) to 16 (highest) and assigned to the competing songs. Ties were decided in favour of the entry that received the most points from the jury.

The jury that voted in all three shows consisted of:

* Silvije Glojnarić – HRT
* Željen Klašterka – HTV
* Aleksandar Kostadinov – HTV
* Ljiljana Vinković – HTV
* Robert Urlić – HR

Competing entries

On 30 November 2006, HRT opened a submission period where artists and composers were able to submit their interest in participating in the competition by 8 December 2006 and submit their entries to the broadcaster with the deadline on 8 January 2007. 100 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period. A five-member expert committee consisting of Silvije Glojnarić (HRT), Robert Urlić ( HR), Ljiljana Vinković (HTV), Željen Klašterka (HTV) and Aleksandar Kostadinov (HTV) reviewed the received submissions and selected thirty-two artists and songs for the competition. HRT announced the competing entries on 23 January 2007 and among the artists were Goran Karan (who represented ), Claudia Beni (who represented ), and Feminnem (who represented ). On 27 January 2007, Barbara Munjas replaced Claudia Beni as the performer of the song "Ti si tu". On 29 January 2007, Giuliano replaced Goran Karan as the performer of the song "Pismom te ljubi milijun mandolina". On 10, 17 and 24 February 2007, the competing artists performed their entries live during the preview programme ''Ususret dori'' broadcast on HRT 1.

Shows

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place on 1 and 2 March 2007. The first semi-final was hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor and Iva Šulentić, while the second semi-final was hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor and Barbara Štrbac; Nikolina Pišek hosted segments from the green room in the first semi-final, while Iva Jerković hosted segments from the green room in the second semi-final. The eight qualifiers for the final from each semi-final were determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Boris Novković (who represented ) performed as the interval act during the first semi-final, while Vanna (who represented ) performed as the interval act during the second semi-final.

Final

The final took place on 3 March 2007, hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor, Iva Šulentić and Barbara Štrbac with Nikolina Pišek and Iva Jerković hosting segments from the green room. The winner, "Vjerujem u ljubav" performed by Dragonfly featuring Dado Topić, was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened by 2006 Croatian Eurovision entrant Severina, while 1987 Yugoslav Eurovision entrant Novi fosili performed as the interval act.

Promotion

Dragonfly and Dado Topić specifically promoted "Vjerujem u ljubav" as the Croatian Eurovision entry on 8 March 2007 by performing during the final of the Serbian Eurovision national final '. The artists also took part in promotional activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Slovenia.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the " Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the are required to qualify from the semi-final on 10 May 2007 in order to compete for the final on 12 May 2007. On 12 March 2007, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final and Croatia was set to perform in position 13, following the entry from and before the entry from .

Both the semi-final and the final were broadcast in Croatia on HTV 1 with commentary by Duško Ćurlić. HRT appointed Barbara Kolar as its spokesperson to announce the Croatian votes during the final.

Semi-final

Dragonfly and Dado Topić took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 5 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. The Croatian performance featured the members of Dragonfly and Dado Topić dressed in black. The stage lighting was dark with the LED screens displaying amber and red colours against a black background. Dragonfly and Topić were joined on stage by a backing vocalist: Anita Mlinarić.

At the end of the show, Croatia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Croatia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. It was later revealed that Croatia placed sixteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 54 points.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Croatia and awarded by Croatia in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the semi-final and the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Croatia

Points awarded by Croatia

References

External links

DORA 2007 official website

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2007

2007
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision