Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Moja štikla", composed by Boris Novković and Franjo Valentić, with lyrics by Severina Vučković, and performed by Severina herself. The Croatian participating broadcaster, Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT), organised the national final Dora 2006 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 2 and 3 March 2006 to compete in the final on 4 March 2006. In the final, "Moja štikla" performed by Severina was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote. Songwriter Novković had represented together with Lado members. Croatia automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing during the show in position 20, Croatia placed twelfth out of the 24 participating countries with 56 points.

Background

Prior to the 2006 contest, Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Croatia thirteen times since its first entry in. Its best result in the contest was fourth, achieved on two occasions: with the song "Sveta ljubav" performed by Maja Blagdan and with the song "Marija Magdalena" performed by Doris Dragović. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the, it had featured in every final they participated in thus far. In, "Vukovi umiru sami" performed by Boris Novković featuring Lado Members managed to qualify to the final where they placed eleventh. 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 2006 contest on 16 January 2006. Since 1993, HRT organised the national final Dora in order to select its entry for the contest, a method that was continued for its 2006 participation.

Before Eurovision

Dora 2006

Dora 2006 was the fourteenth edition of the national selection Dora organised by HRT to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 2 and 3 March 2006 and a final on 4 March 2006, all taking place at the Hotel Kvarner in Opatija and broadcast on HTV1.

Format

Thirty-two songs competed in Dora 2006 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:

Competing entries

HRT announced the thirty-two competing entries on 10 February 2006 and among the artists were Magazin which represented, Danijela Martinović who represented Croatia in 1995 as part of Magazin and , and Claudia Beni who represented. The artists and songs for the competition were selected by a five-member expert committee consisting of Silvije Glojnarić (HRT), Robert Urlić (HR), Željen Klašterka (HTV), Ljiljana Vinković (HTV) and Aleksandar Kostadinov (HTV) after artists and composers were directly invited by HRT to submit their entries.

Shows

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place on 2 and 3 March 2006. The first semi-final was hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor, and Emilija Kokić (who won Eurovision for as part of Riva) in the first semi-final, while the second semi-final was hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor, and Vesna Pisarović (who represented ). 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, former Croatian Eurovision entrants performed as the interval acts during the semi-finals. Riva, Dubrovački trubaduri (who represented ), E.N.I., Goran Karan , Claudia Beni and Boris Novković performed in the first semi-final, while Vesna Pisarović, Krunoslav Slabinac (who represented ), Put , Magazin , Danijela Martinović (1995 and ), Vanna and Ivan Mikulić performed in the second semi-final.

Final

The final took place on 4 March 2006, hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor, Emilija Kokić (who won Eurovision for as part of Riva) and Vesna Pisarović (who represented ). The winner, "Moja štikla" performed by Severina, 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, Lady Swing performed as the interval act during the show.

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 in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. Following 's withdrawal from the contest on 15 March and subsequent removal from the final, Croatia which placed eleventh in the 2005 contest took its place and automatically qualified to compete in the final on 20 May 2006. On 21 March 2006, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Croatia was set to perform in position 20, following the entry from and before the entry from. Croatia placed twelfth in the final, scoring 56 points. Both the semi-final and the final were broadcast in Croatia on HRT with commentary by Duško Ćurlić. HRT appointed Mila Horvat as its spokesperson to announce the Croatian votes during the final.

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