Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999

Background

Main article: Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 1999 contest, Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Croatia six times since its first entry in . Its best result in the contest was fourth, which it achieved with the song "Sveta ljubav" performed by Maja Blagdan. In , it placed fifth with Danijela and the song "Neka mi ne svane".

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. Between 1993 and 1998, HRT organised the national final Dora in order to select its entry for the contest, a method that continued for its 1999 participation.

Before Eurovision

''Dora '99''

Dora '99 was the seventh edition of the national selection Dora which selected the Croatian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1999. The competition consisted of twenty-four entries, selected by an expert committee following a submission period opened by HRT between 14 November and 22 December 1998, competing in one final on 7 March 1999 at Jadran Film's Studio 2 in Zagreb, hosted by Oliver Mlakar and Vlatka Pokos and broadcast on HTV1. HRT broadcast an additional two shows prior to the final; the first show on 5 March, titled Naj Dora, featured performances from former Croatian Eurovision entrants, while the second show on 6 March, titled Pjevajmo Doru, featured the twenty-four competing artists performing songs from previous editions of Dora of their choice. Among the artists were Doris Dragović who represented , and Magazin which represented .

For the first time since Dora existed, an orchestra was introduced to accompany the entries. Nineteen of the twenty-four competing songs were performed with HRT's Revijski Orchestra during the final and the winner, "Marija Magdalena" performed by Doris Dragović, was determined by a combination of votes from 20 regional juries and a public televote, the latter of which had the same weight as one jury. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Tihana Škrinjarić, members of the Turbo Limach Show and Danijela, who represented , performed as the interval acts during the show.

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 took place at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, on 29 May 1999. According to the Eurovision rules, the 23-country participant list for the contest was composed of: the previous year's winning country and host nation, the seventeen countries which had obtained the highest average points total over the preceding five contests, and any eligible countries which did not compete in the 1998 contest. On 17 November 1998, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Croatia was set to perform in position 4, following the entry from and before the entry from the . Croatia finished in fourth place with 118 points, which was their joint-best placing at the contest at that time alongside . This record was taken in when the nation placed second with Baby Lasagna and "Rim Tim Tagi Dim".

The contest was broadcast in Croatia on HTV1 with commentary by Aleksandar Kostadinov. HRT appointed Marko Rašica as its spokesperson to announce the results of the Croatian televote during the final.

Voting

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

After Eurovision

The Norwegian delegation raised an objection to the use of simulated male vocals during the performance of Croatian entry "Marija Magdalena". Following the contest this was found to have contravened the contest rules regarding the use of vocals on the backing tracks, and Croatia were sanctioned by the EBU with the loss of 33% of their points for the purpose of calculating their average points total for qualification in following contests. The country's position and points at this contest however remain unchanged.

References

References

1. "Croatia Country Profile". [[European Broadcasting Union.
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3. "Naj Dora".
4. "Pjevajmo Doru".
5. "Dora '99".
6. "Rules of the 44th Eurovision Song Contest, 1999". European Broadcasting Union.
7. "44th Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union.
8. "Final of Jerusalem 1999". European Broadcasting Union.
9. (29 May 1999). "Prijenos iz Jeruzalema: Eurosong '99". [[Slobodna Dalmacija]].
10. "Results of the Final of Jerusalem 1999". European Broadcasting Union.
11. O'Connor, John Kennedy. (2010). "The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History". [[Carlton Publishing Group.
12. "Jerusalem 1999 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union.
13. Roxburgh, Gordon. (2020). "Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest". Telos Publishing.