It is a weekend of vocal groups, or Klapa, in Cavtat with a festival of these harmonious melodies this weekend. This is the 17th year in a row that this festival has been held and this year will see ten vocal groups from all over Croatia perform.

Organised by the Konavle Tourist Board and the Klapa Ragusavecchia the festival opens on the 3rd of September at 8.30pm on the terrace of the Villa Banac in Cavtat. The opening night is a bumper one with nine different vocal groups performing. And then on Sunday the 4th of September the vocal group “Iskon” will perform. Entrance to both evenings is free of charge.

Klapa music is a form of traditional a cappella singing in Dalmatia, Croatia. The word Klapa translates as "a group of friends" and traces its roots to littoral church singing. In 2012 Klapa was inscribed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Dubrovnik is one of the most photographed destinations in the world, every day thousands of snaps are published on social media sites and seen throughout the world; however this one really caught our eye.

Sofia Erhan from Bucharest, Romania added this photo to her Facebook account and within hours it had hundreds of likes. It is certainly one of the best photos we have seen of Dubrovnik for a long time...well done Sofia.

Dubrovnik will be the host for the fifth time to the young filmmakers from Mediterranean countries. The selection jury of the Dubrovnik Film Festival for children and youth of the Mediterranean countries, popularly known as Duff, announced the results of the selected films in all categories. The jury are: young Dubrovnik director, screenwriter and critic Luksa Benic, a film editor from Zagreb Nina Velnic and animator and graphic designer Tea Strazicic. They have selected a total of 82 films among the applicants for the competition program. Films will be shown in two age categories: 38 movies of children up to 15 years in all film genres, 31 movies of youth from 16 to 20 years and 13 films in a unique, open category.

Apart from the competition part of the program during the festival there will be the workshop and accompanying programs that will be led by professionals from the world of film. In addition to competitors from eight Mediterranean countries, young people of Dubrovnik will once again have the opportunity to get to know the world of animation, learn all about the sound, to record their first feature film or make their own first timelapse video. For high school students the film art classes will be organized.

Duff is for the fifth time organized by Dubrovnik Cinemas, the Association for the Promotion of media culture Luza and Summer School Film Sipan, with the partnership of the Dubrovnik Gymnasium, in the period from 17th to 23rd October for all events, or from 20th to 23rd October for the competitive program.

This has got to be our photo of the day! This “sea monster” was spotted by the team from Ludo More and posted on their Facebook site. Apparently this seaside beauty is situated on the rocks of the Konavle coastline near to the popular swimming destination Luka Cilipi.

All we can say its hats off for the creativity!

Andrea Bocelli, the famous Italian tenor who has been completely blind from the age of twelve, has sold more than 85 million albums, more than any other opera singer in history. His music is a universal language that connects people around the world just like the state of the art communication solutions which make our daily lives much easier. That is why Deutsche Telekom, one of the leading telecommunications groups in Europe, choose the famous tenor to participate in its new "Europe" campaign highlighting the idea of a connected Europe.

The campaign "You can’t see what it is that connects Europe. But you can feel it." featuring the famous tenor conveys Deutsche Telekom’s and the artist’s shared belief in the idea of the connectedness of countries and people, through a network that is invisible but always provides this feeling of connectedness.

For Andrea Bocelli, today's network technology is one of the great achievements of our modern world. “The network turns Europe into a community and brings people closer together. Like my music. Music is a special language that everybody understands – and thus connects people”, says the tenor. “Life is a complex web of relationships with people. With the help of this network and new technologies, I want to stay connected with all the people who are important to me. What is true for music is also true for the network: You can’t see what it is that connects Europe. But you can feel it.”

Andrea Boceli on the Stradun...or at least his body double 

In the last few days, as a part of the Deutsche Telekom campaign in Croatia, big posters of Hrvatski Telekom can be seen throughout the country showing people with their arms flung wide open to the world forming the letter ''T''. The message is quite clear – the best network gives you a sense of freedom wherever you are.

Otherwise, this TV commercial have been already broadcasted throughout Europe and was recorded at various locations in a number of European cities. We are proud to say that Dubrovnik features in this TV commercial with the most famous street in the world Stradun and Dubrovnik's Franjo Tudman Bridge on which the famous world tenor Andrea Bocelli stands and throws his arms up to the world and to freedom.

The most popular low-cost airline in the world, Ryanair, could soon start flights to Dubrovnik. There have been rumours for several months that the Irish airline has shown an interest in operating between Dubrovnik and the UK and it seems that these negotiations are coming to a head.

Ryanair recently held talks with the three main parties in Dubrovnik, the mayor, representatives from Dubrovnik Airport and the Dubrovnik Tourist Board and it appears that some movement has been made. Following these talks Ryanair has approached Dubrovnik Airport to reduce its landing fees and to sign a long-term contract. Speaking to the specialised website EX-YU Aviation the Route Manager from Ryanair, Luis Fernandez-Mellado, stated that the budget airline is interested in operating year-round flights to Dubrovnik, he described Dubrovnik as an “extremely interesting destination.”

Without doubt there would be a strong demand for Ryanair flights to Dubrovnik, who would be in competition on the London to Dubrovnik route with easyjet. But the fact that the Irish airline has shown interest in flying outside of the summer season should prove tempting for the local authorities. Fernandez-Mellado added that Dubrovnik would prove to be an excellent city break destination during the winter months.

On the other side the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Andro Vlahusic, has publically stated that he would be willing to sign a long-term contract with Ryanair up to 2024. So as both sides see an interest and both seem willing to negotiate we can only assume that the current sticking point are the financial terms.

The Dubrovnik Times contacted both parties, however both we keeping their cards very close to their chest. The press office of Ryanair commented that “While we are always interested in new routes, we do not comment upon or engage in rumour or speculation.” Whilst the City of Dubrovnik gave a similar response, telling us that “the negotiations are currently ongoing and we will let you know as soon as we have more news.”

Ryanair currently operates flights to four airports in Croatia, Pula, Osijek, Zadar and Rijeka to various European destinations. Within the next weeks we should uncover whether Dubrovnik will be the fifth Croatian airport to welcome the budget airline.

Website Thrillist has published a list of 13 overlooked European cities. The article is aimed at Americans, who according to the article, go to the 'old, safe locations' such as London, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Barcelona... Because of that, this article offers alternative locations and Dubrovnik found its place on this list too.

- We've rounded up cities well worth a trip on their own, when the spirit or flight discounts move you. A visit to any of these towns -- as explained by people who have lived in or visited them -- will set you apart from your fellow wandering Americans. As such, the locals there will recognize you as a deliberate traveler. And you will, we promise, have a hell of a time, equalling or surpassing what the more oft-visited hubs will offer – writes the author.

Dubrovnik is described as 'Game of Thrones chapter on the Adriatic'.

- It’s hard to believe this jewel is even real – with this sentence the author starts describing Dubrovnik, praising the sea, the Old City and even its prices.

- Dubrovnik’s history and culture, and its Venetian cobbled roads, give it a sublime flair as a romantic hideout, with amazing seafood and a local brandy sljivovica, potent as wildfire. The fantastic climate and great beaches lend themselves to sea kayaking and snorkeling. It’s a must see when exploring the Adriatic, and will be temperate long after winter finds the Seven Kingdoms – writes Daniel Cole, Thrillist contributor.

The next concert of the International Late Summer Music Festival Dubrovnik is also the last of the project 'Key to the future' made by Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and Dubrovnik Summer Festival. It will be held tomorrow, August 30th, starting 9 pm.

The star of the evening will be the young pianist and also an originator of the program, Andrew Tyson who brought together young laureates of prestigious international competitions. The whole concert will be conducted by maestro Mladen Tarbuk.

After a series of many young musicians, Tyson who opened the program ‘Key to the future’ at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, tomorrow will close it in the atrium of the Rector's Palace.

Andrew Tyson is new, but already recognizable name on the music scene, and BBC Radio 3 called him ‘a real poet of the piano'. Among the rewards and recognition that he has so far achieved, there are some that stand out: a victory at the International audition for young concert artists in the US (2011), the prize at the International Piano Competition in Leeds (2012) and the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2013) and the first prize in the Géza Anda in Zurich (2015), where he also won the Mozart prize and the audience award.

For this occasion Tyson will perform Chopin's Concerto no. 1 for Piano and Orchestra in E Minor, and in the second part of the concert the audience will have the opportunity to listen to Bizet's Symphony no. 1 in C major.