Croatia’s national broadcaster HRT confirmed it will not boycott Eurovision 2026 in Vienna and will participate as planned, while keeping its vote on Israel’s participation secret.
The Croatian national broadcaster HRT clarified this morning that it will not boycott Eurovision 2026 and will take part in the contest as planned. It will therefore not join Spain, Slovenia, Ireland and the Netherlands, which have announced they will boycott Eurovision in response to Israel’s participation in the competition.
In its official statement, the Croatian national broadcaster wrote that “HRT will take part in Eurovision as usual and, as always, will broadcast the contest live.” Croatia refused to reveal how it voted regarding Israel’s participation, making it one of the few European countries whose voting stance remains unclear.
The Croatian statement on the matter was deliberately vague; similar to the United Kingdom, it announced that it would support the majority decision, while stressing that every broadcaster has “the legitimate right to decide whether it will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest and under which conditions” – a remark widely seen as a nod toward the withdrawing countries.
Croatia has likely faced considerable pressure from different directions. On one hand, its government is right-leaning and relatively supportive of Israel, having voted in favour of Israel within the European Union and refusing to recognise a Palestinian state. On the other hand, Croatia’s close neighbours and allies – Slovenia and Montenegro, and very likely also predominantly Muslim Bosnia and Herzegovina – have reportedly taken an active role in the camp calling for Israel’s exclusion from the contest.
It is therefore possible that Croatia voted in favour of Israel but refuses to disclose this in order to preserve regional harmony, or that it voted against Israel but chose not to withdraw from Eurovision due to government pressure. The real answer will probably remain unknown; for now, attention turns to Croatia’s national selection and the hope for an artist somewhat more sympathetic toward Israel and Israelis than the country’s previous representative.
Croatia at Eurovision 2025
“Poison Cake” was the title of the song performed by Marko Bošnjak in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2025. Croatia failed to qualify for the grand final, breaking the country’s recent streak of success. The song finished 12th out of 15 entries in its semi-final, receiving a total of 28 points.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Croatia’s 31st participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Croatia joined the competition in 1993 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2024 by finishing in second place with the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” performed by the singer Baby Lasagna.
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Ofek Jerassi is an Israeli reporter, editor, content creator, and commentator, specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He has developed his extensive expertise since childhood, becoming a close follower of the contest. For the past three years, he has served as a writer and editor for EuroMix—Israel’s largest Eurovision website and one of the world’s leading platforms in the field, with over 1.5 million users annually.
Ofek covered Eurovision 2025 on-site in Basel from the press center in the host city, providing EuroMix readers with firsthand experiences, professional analysis, and exclusive reactions from the audience, artists, and experts. His in-depth knowledge and broad familiarity with the Eurovision world are evident in every article, ensuring reliable, professional, and up-to-date content.
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