Croatia was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1996 The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 18 May 1996 at the in Oslo, Norway. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (NRK) and presented by Ingvild Bryn and ...

with the song "", written by Zrinko Tutić, and performed by Maja Blagdan. The Croatian participating broadcaster,

Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' ( HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into three ...

(HRT), selected its entry through ''Dora 1996''.

Before Eurovision

''Dora 1996''

(HRT) organised ''Dora 1996'' to select its entry in the

. The national selection, held on 3 March 1996 in

Opatija Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...

, 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.

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. On the night of the contest Maja Blagdan performed 7th, following and preceding the . The song received 98 points at the close of the voting, placing 4th of 23 countries competing. This was Croatia's joint-best placing at the contest, shared with the Croatian entry in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, " Marija Magdalena" by

Doris Dragović Dorotea Budimir (; born 16 April 1961), better known as Doris Dragović () or simply Doris, is a Croatian singer who has represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with the song " Željo moja", finishing 11th with 49 points, and C ...

, until

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

when

Baby Lasagna Marko Purišić (, born 5 July 1995), known professionally as Baby Lasagna, is a Croatian singer-songwriter and music producer. He represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song " Rim Tim Tagi Dim", where he finished in se ...

finished in 2nd place with

Rim Tim Tagi Dim "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" is a song written and performed by Croatian musician Marko Purišić, better known as Baby Lasagna. It was released on 12 January 2024 through Virgin Music Group as the third single from Baby Lasagna's debut solo album, ''DMN ...

Voting

Qualifying round

Final

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1996

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996