Croatia‘s broadcaster HRT has released details of DORA 2022, the national final that will select Croatia’s act for Eurovision 2022. Entries for the national final are now open.
The broadcaster has launched the song submission period, including an online entry website with the rules for 2022.
There are a few changes for the 2022 edition of DORA. The Eurovision maximum of six performers are now allowed in each performance. For DORA 2021, pandemic precautions meant that the maximum was reduced to no more five performers.
The winner isn’t able to make any major revamps of their entry. The version of the song that wins DORA will be the version that goes to Eurovision. Only minor changes will be allowed, and then only with permission of the broadcaster.
Entrants must be Croatian citizens. Songs can either in Croatian or another “European language”.
The competition entries will be assessed by an expert jury who will then pick the 14 grand finalists, as well as four reserves. The rules note that the jury’s criteria will be “artistic value with an emphasis on quality music and lyrics and the whole work”.
Fourteen songs will compete in the one grand final of DORA 2022. The broadcaster hasn’t confirmed the exact date, but does note that it will be held sometime in February 2022.
The winner of DORA 2022 will be selected by a combination of televote and jury vote. Further details of the exact competition format will be confirmed later.
Entries for DORA 2022 are open now and will close in just under one month, on 25 November.
Croatia and the DORA national final
DORA began in 1993 and was used to select Croatia’s debut entry at Eurovision that year. The national final was used until 2011, when HRT switched to internally selecting their Eurovision entries. In 2019, DORA was brought back and has been used every year since.
However, Croatia’s best results in the past decade have come from internally selected acts. In 2017, the Croatian divo Jacques Houdek performed the bilingual popera song “My Friend”, which placed 13th in the grand final. The previous year, The Voice winner Nina Kraljić placed 23rd with her uplifting song “Lighthouse”.
Croatia’s two competing Eurovision songs since then have failed to make it to the grand final. However, 2021 star Albina came close. Her electro-pop song “Tick-Tock” placed 11th in its semi-final and missed out on making the grand final by only four points.
What do you think? Who would you like to see compete in DORA 2022? What sort of act should Croatia send to Turin? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!
Dora – Izbor pjesme za blamažu Hrvatske!
My one wish for Croatia is to qualify next year. It’s been way too long since we last seen them in the final.
I share your wish, but I’ll be honest and say that we had a count of one year of shocking NQ (2021). 2020 contest didn’t go live, Crazy was good, but in a most difficult semi ever with many even stronger songs, and The Dream wouldn’t have qualified for the top 10 of 2002. However, after Albina’s undeserving NQ (the song is still occasionally played on a radio here), I would also want another strong successor with a much better actual result.
There are several countries that I would like to see make a come back next year because they haven’t been in the final for a long time.
Crazy wouldn’t have qualified if all the other entries in that semi had been 3-minute silence.
Thinkful wishing!
Why French, but no Spanish, Slovenian or German??? Guess, we’ll hear lots of French in NFs, because of France ESC 2021 and Switzerland ESC 2021 success.
Who cares tbh? We’ll only hear songs in Croatian and English anyway…
I’m hoping for Luxembourgish, Welsh, Catalan, or maybe even some Auregnais. You can do this, Croatia.
Klingon entry would be fun. Esperanto too. Do people still know about it?
European only, sorry.
Esperanto is European however…
I would like Croatia to finally show Europe the music they play at home, and not the music that the artist has never performed. the promotion to the final is important, but here you need a good place in the final to make progress and change the approach to the competition I know many good Croatian artists, I keep my fingers crossed that at least one of my favorite artists would like to go to Eurovision in Turin in the colors of Croatia
Are you jocking? If we send what it’s been played on Narodni radio, then we would fail miserably. Who wants to be embarassed by some Igor Dela? and singers who only get Nr1 on TopHR because of radio payola?
You want Thompson to represent? No to that then
Lu Jakelic , Indira Forza , Matija Cvek ,Silente Kedzo , Mia Dimsic , Vinko Cemeras , Pravila Igre , Marko Tolja ,Vatra , Nika Turkovic ,Alen Duras , Zsa Zsa
these are my favorite artists, I want to see at least one of them in Turin in the colors of Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest
Only Lu, Kedzo, Nika and Zsa Zsa would be good for Eurovision from the list. The rest are a huge no.
And the conclusion? Countries that will not have qualified for the 2022 Eurovision final: CROATIA…
Troll…
Just a simple realist.
“Entries allowed in Italian and French”
I understand you can send entries in Italian, it is an official minority language in Croatia after all. But French? There is no logic behind that. Not many speak or sing in French in Croatia. How many entries do they expect to get?
Would have been better if they included Hungarian, the other official minority language..
Well, according to Wikipedia, France and Croatia were pretty close in the past plus 10% of the population speak it.
i wonder if dora will once again be stronger than melfest this year…
really hope it is tbh