Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country	Croatia
National selection
Selection process	Dora 2009
Selection date(s)	Semi-final: 27 February 2009 Final: 28 February 2009
Selected entrant	Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea
Selected song	"Lijepa Tena"
Selected songwriter(s)	Tonči Huljić Vjekoslava Huljić
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (13th, 33 points)
Final result	18th, 45 points
Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

Croatia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Lijepa Tena" written by Tonči Huljić and Vjekoslava Huljić. The song was performed by Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea. The Croatian broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) organised the national final Dora 2009 to select the Croatian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. A total of twenty-four entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. In the semi-final on 27 February 2009, six entries qualified to compete in the final on 28 February 2009 alongside ten pre-qualified songs. In the final, "Lijepa Tena" performed by Igor Cukrov was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a six-member jury panel and a public televote.

Croatia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2009. Performing as the opening entry for the show in position 1, "Lijepa Tena" was announced among the ten qualifying entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 16 May. It was later revealed that Croatia had been selected by back-up juries to qualify after placing thirteenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 33 points. In the final, Croatia performed in position 5 and placed eighteenth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 45 points.

Background

Prior to the 2009 contest, Croatia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixteen times since its first entry in 1993.^[1] The nation's best result in the contest was fourth, which it achieved on two occasions: in 1996 with the song "Sveta ljubav" performed by Maja Blagdan and in 1999 with the song "Marija Magdalena" performed by Doris Dragović. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Croatia had thus far featured in four finals. In 2008, Croatia managed to qualify to the final with Kraljevi ulice and 75 Cents and the song "Romanca".

The Croatian national broadcaster, Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), broadcasts the event within Croatia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. HRT confirmed Croatia's participation in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest on 20 October 2008.^[2] Since 1993, HRT organised the national final Dora in order to select the Croatian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, a method that was continued for their 2009 participation.^[2]

Before Eurovision

Dora 2009

Dora 2009 was the seventeenth edition of the Croatian national selection Dora which selected Croatia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The competition consisted of a semi-final and a final on 27 and 28 February 2009 both taking place at the Hotel Kvarner in Opatija. The semi-final was broadcast on HRT 2, while the final was broadcast on HRT 1. Both shows were also broadcast via radio on HR 2 and online via the broadcaster's website hrt.hr.^[3][4]

Format

A total of twenty-four songs competed in Dora 2009 which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. Fourteen of the songs were selected from open submissions and competed in the semi-final with public televoting selecting the top six to proceed to the final. In the final, the six qualifying songs in the semi-final alongside an additional ten pre-qualified songs competed and the winner was selected by votes from the public and a jury panel. Ties in the final were decided in favour of the entry that received the most points from the jury.^[2][5][6]

Competing entries

On 26 October 2008, HRT opened a submission period where artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster with the deadline on 12 December 2008. 199 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period.^[7] A six-member expert committee consisting of Silvije Glojnarić (HRT), Robert Urlić (HR), Mirko Fodor (HTV), Željen Klašterka (HTV), Aleksandar Kostadinov (HTV) and Đurđica Ivanković (HR) reviewed the received submissions and selected fourteen artists and songs for the semi-final of the competition, while the ten pre-qualifying songs for the final were written by composers invited by HRT in consultation with the Croatian Composers' Society (HDS). The composers also selected the performer for their entry.^[8][9] The invited composers were announced on 15 December 2008 and were:^[10]

HRT announced the entries competing in the semi-final on 28 January 2009 during the radio programme Turki party broadcast on HR 2 and hosted by Zlatko Turkalj Turki.^[11] Among the artists were Goran Karan who represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 and Feminnem which represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.^[12][13] The pre-qualified entries competing in the final were announced on 28 January 2009.^[14] On 15 January 2009, the song "Raduj se", written by Boris Novković who represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, was withdrawn from the semi-final and replaced with "Kao jedno" performed by Sandra Bagarić.^[15] On 2 February 2009, Goran Karan withdrew his song "Adam i Eva" from the semi-final and replaced with "Ma gdje bila" performed by Mario Battifiaca.^[16][17]

Shows

Semi-final

The semi-final took place on 27 February 2009, hosted by Duško Ćurlić and Nevena Rendeli with Ida Prester and Iva Šulentić hosting segments from the green room.^[18] The six qualifiers for the final were determined exclusively by a public televote.^[19] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened by the National Folk Dance Ensemble of Croatia LADO, while British Eurovision Song Contest 1976 winner Brotherhood of Man performed as the interval act.^[20]

Final

The final took place on 28 February 2009, hosted by Duško Ćurlić and Danijela Trbović with Ida Prester and Iva Šulentić hosting segments from the green room. The six entries that qualified from the semi-final alongside the ten pre-qualified entries competed and the winner, "Lijepa Tena" performed by Igor Cukrov, was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a six-member jury panel and a public televote.^[21] The jury that voted in the final consisted of Đurđica Ivanković (HR), Silvije Glojnarić (HRT), Mirko Fodor (HTV), Aleksandar Kostadinov (HTV), Željen Klašterka (HTV) and Robert Urlić (HR).^[22] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened by 2008 Croatian Eurovision entrant Kraljevi ulice, while Paul Young performed as the interval act.^[23][24]