1990s Following the
dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, Croatia became an independent country, and
Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) became an EBU member in 1993. In February 1993, HRT organised HTF - Hrvatski televizijski festival (
Croatian television festival), which was to select the country's debut entry as an independent state for the
1993 contest. The band
Put won performing the song "Don't Ever Cry" which was, despite the English title, also partially performed in Croatian. The song came third in the
Kvalifikacija za Millstreet pre-selection event, which allowed their participation in the 1993 contest. HTF was also held in 1994 for the
1994 contest, until being renamed to Dora in 1995, the name which is still to this day used for the Croatian pre-selection event. The new name for the contest was inspired by the Croatian composer
Dora Pejačević. Along with
Cyprus,
Malta, Norway,
Portugal, and Sweden, Croatia was never relegated in the 1990s, and, unlike Cyprus, Norway, and Portugal, it was never relegated in the beginning of the 21st century. Relegation meant that the country would have to sit out the subsequent contest due to poor placement.
2000s Croatia continued selecting its participants through Dora for the entirety of the decade. After
Vanna's song "
Strings of my Heart" finished 10th at the contest, the country has not achieved a Top 10 placement until placing second at the contest. The edition of the contest saw Croatia failing to qualify for the finals for the first time ever. The country qualified for the finals again at the and contests, achieving their lowest placements at the time, placing 21st and 18th respectively.
2010s Both 2010 and 2011 Dora winners,
Feminnem and
Daria Kinzer respectively, failed to quality for the finals at the and contests. In 2012, Dora was cancelled, and for the first time ever since the country's debut in 1993, no pre-selection contest was held. An internal selection was made by HRT instead, with
Nina Badrić and
Klapa s Mora selected to represent Croatia at the and contests respectively. Both entries ultimately continued Croatia's non-qualification streak. HRT announced on 19 September 2013 that they would not participate in the contest, citing the financial difficulties, as well as a string of poor results between and influencing their decision to take a year's break. The last time Croatia qualified for the grand final at the time was in . Croatia would not return to the contest in
2015, It was the first time since for HRT to not broadcast the contest. On 26 November 2015, it was announced that Croatia would return to the contest in . It was also reported that the entry would possibly be the winner of the first season of
The Voice – Najljepši glas Hrvatske.
Nina Kraljić won
The Voice and was selected to represent Croatia with the internally selected song "
Lighthouse". The entry qualified for the final, making it the first time Croatia had made it to the final since 2009. After the successful return in 2016, Croatian national broadcaster HRT confirmed on 17 September 2016 that they would also participate in
2017.
Jacques Houdek, the coach of Nina Kraljić in
The Voice, was internally selected to represent the country on 17 February 2017, exactly five months after they confirmed the participation.
Franka Batelić was internally selected to represent the country at the contest. On 30 October 2018, it was announced by HRT that the national final, Dora, would return in 2019, traditionally taking place in
Opatija, a famous summer resort.
Roko won the first renewed edition of Dora with "
The Dream", ultimately failing to qualify for the finals at the contest.
2020s In March 2021, it was confirmed that HRT and Opatija had signed a three-year long contract regarding the organization of HRT Music Days and Dora, meaning both of these events were held in the city annually until 2024.
Damir Kedžo won the 2020 edition of Dora with "
Divlji vjetre", but did not represent Croatia due to the contest's cancellation caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Albina and
Mia Dimšić won the subsequent Dora editions, both failing to qualify for the finals at the and contests.
Let 3 won Dora in 2023 and went on to secure the country's first finale qualification since 2017, ultimately finishing 13th. The following year's
2024 edition of Dora was held in
Zagreb through two semi-final shows on 22 and 23 February, and the final show on 25 February 2024.
Baby Lasagna won with "
Rim Tim Tagi Dim" and achieved the country's best result to date, having placed second at the contest.
Marko Bošnjak won
Dora 2025 and represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest ; however, the country did not qualify for the Grand Final. The finale of
Dora 2026, the selection contest for the edition, was held on 15 February 2026 and was won by
Lelek with the song "
Andromeda." Ahead of the 2026 contest, HRT aired
Eurosong 70: Naši ljudi, naše pjesme, a two-part documentary series produced in honor of the contest's 70th edition; it looked back at Croatia's history at the contest. == Participation overview ==