Mark Thomas - The editor and big chief of The Dubrovnik Times. Born in the UK he has been living and working in Dubrovnik since 1998, yes he is one of the rare “old hands.” A unique insight into both British and Croatian life and culture, Mark is often known as just “Englez” or Englishman. He is a traveller, a current affairs freak and a huge AFC Wimbledon fan.
Email: mark.thomas@dubrovnik-times.com
Just how gay friendly is Croatia? Well, according to the German based gay guide Spartacus International Gay Guide, Croatia is ranked in 47th position on their 2019 list. In fact, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States are all in joint 47th position on the list of 197 countries.
The Spartacus Gay Travel Index lists the friendliest countries for LGBT tourists to visit. And every year the company produces a new, updated list. To compile the list Spartacus takes into account various factors, including analysing antidiscrimination laws, marriage and civil partnership laws, adoption laws, transgender rights, and persecution or death penalty.
The two most gay friendly countries in the world were Sweden and Canada, in fact these two countries topped the poll last year as well.
In fact, Croatia rose up the rankings slightly, in 2018 Croatia was placed in 45th position.
The bottom of the list is occupied by Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran, while the least friendly country on the 2019 list is Chechnya, where gay people can face death penalty for homosexuality, the guide said.
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 kicks of in May in Tel Aviv, Israel when 42 nations compete for the top place tune. This year’s installment of the globally broadcast competition will feature three rounds.
Semi-final 1 takes place on Tuesday, 14 May and semi-final 2 is slated for Thursday, 16 May. The Eurovision final is Saturday, 18 May. Playing host broadcast network is the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC).
Bitan 2, a 10,000-seat convention hall at Expo Tel Aviv, gets the home venue nod in a continuation of live pop music performances staged there. In recent years, the facility has hosted a variety of rock and pop concerts by the likes of Lady Gaga, Nine Inch Nails, Pitbull, and David Guetta.
This is Israel’s third time hosting Eurovision. The 1979 and 1999 song competition finals were held at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem. Israel earned Eurovision 2019 hosting rights following its first place finish in last year’s competition with “Toy” performed by Netta Barzilai from Hod HaSharon.
Croatia’s entry into Eurovision 2019 will be “The Dream” performed by Roko Blažević , a talented 18-year-old vocalist from Split.
Dora 2019 Returns as the Gate to Eurovision
Blažević ’s path to Tel Aviv in May first went through Dora 2019, the national song contest of Croatia. Held at the Marino Cvetković Sports Hall in Opatija on 16 February, Dora 2019 marked the official return of the song festival following a seven-year hiatus.
Dora was previously used to select Croatia’s Eurovision song entry from 1993 to 2011. Recent years have seen a less formal nomination process.
“The Dream” collected a commanding 42 percent of the vote to emerge victorious from the final field of 16 songs. Voting was based on a combination of points from viewer ballots and ten regional jury groups.
Rounding out the top three finishers were Lorena Bućan with “Tower of Babylon” in second place and “Brutalero” sung by Luka Nižetić with third.
In all, 162 song entries from around Croatia submitted between November and January were considered for the contest.
Dora 2019 was organized by public broadcaster HRT. Iva Šulentić, Jelena Lešić and Mirko Fodor presented the nationally-televised event.
A Young Superstar with a Veteran Career
Blažević hails from a highly-musical family. His father and mother are both experienced singers while his brother plays guitar. Blažević began his music career at the age of twelve by joining a local singing group. He also plays piano and performs in a band with the sons of Zlatan Stipišić Gibonni, Rando and Luka.
Blažević is no stranger to TV singing competitions either. He won Pinkove Zvevdice in July 2017 and picked up second place on Zvijezde this past December.
And if the teenager’s resume wasn’t impressive enough, Blažević is frequently compared to Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, who is incidentally of Croatian descent.
Powerhouse vocalist Jacques Houdek, Croatia’s representative at Eurovision 2017, is mentoring Blažević in this year’s contest. Houdek also happens to be the songwriter behind “The Dream”.
“The Dream” Becomes Reality
A light but powerful tune set to modern dance-pop production, “The Dream” sweeps from a quiet, sparse opening to its anthemic chorus. “We all dream of love” belts Blažević at the song’s mighty crescendo, delivering an inspiring message of hope and unity.
Hope was also the theme of Blažević’s reaction upon winning. When asked what fans can expect from him in Tel Aviv, the Split native said, “They can expect even more. I think we’ll do our best as we did here tonight...we hope for the best, of course.”
Blažević’s performance at Dora contained both English and Croatian verses.
For the Thrill of Song
In the era of large cash prizes and contracts associated with many televised talent competitions, Eurovision’s prize closet remains relatively spartan. The winning artist receives no money, nor are there guaranteed opportunities to advance his or her career.
The winner does gain significant international exposure from the contest, which may convert into appearances, album sales, and performances at other events.
Instead, the main prize is awarded to the national broadcaster supplying the winning song and performance in the form of broadcast rights to the next year’s contest.
Because there is no large, formal prize, Eurovision maintains a sort of competitive purity akin to the Olympics--the participating performers play for pride and national representation on the global stage.
Originated by the European Broadcasting Union in 1956 as an event to unify the post-war continent, 2019 marks the 64th edition of Eurovision.
The song competition is the longest-running, most watched reality TV series in history, annually grabbing an estimated 600 million viewers form around the world. The event’s popularity has spread beyond mainland Europe in recent years, earning sizeable audiences in Asia, Australia, and Latin America.
A History of Mixed Results at Eurovision
Croatia’s independent participation in Eurovision dates back a relatively short term to 1993. The country previously entered as a part of Yugoslavia throughout the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Yugoslavia won Eurovision in 1989 with the song “Rock Me” by Riva. As a result, the 1990 competition was held in Zagreb.
Croatia’s highest showings in the contest are two fourth-place showings--Maja Blagdan’s rendition of “Sveta Ijubav” in 1996 and Doris Dragović singing “Marija Magdalena" in 1999.
While Croatians at home and abroad will undoubtedly rally behind Blažević, “The Dream” faces an uphill battle. Oddschecker currently peg’s Croatia’s chance of winning Eurovision towards the middle of the pack. The favorites are Russia’s Sergey Lazarev and Sweden’s soon-to-be-determined entrant.
Photo by Benny MZ
Europe and The World Watches and Waits
Eurovision 2019 will be televised live by each participating country’s public broadcaster including HRT in Croatia. Viewers can also find live-streams on the contest’s official YouTube channel.
Blažević Eurovision performance of “The Dream” is scheduled for the second half of semi-final 2 on 16 May.
Erez Tal and Bar Refaeli will present the semi-finals and final broadcast as main hosts. Assi Azar and Lucy Ayoub will provide commentary from the green room.
Regardless of how Blažević and “The Dream” place at Eurovision Song Contest 2019, Croatia and the world will be watching. A big win is already at hand for the gifted young vocalist and his anthem of love and hope by virtue of making it this far.
Croatia is expected to move a step closer to adopting the Euro as the official currency and ditching the Kuna with an announcement from the Central Bank Governor that a letter of intent to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism will be sent in the second quarter of this year.
Boris Vujcic, the governor of the Central Bank, announced that “sometime in the second quarter of this year” the letter of intent would be sent to the European Union. Joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism is a mandatory step for taking the Euro as the official currency.
"In any case, first there will be a report from the European Commission, then we will continue talks with our partners - the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the Eurogroup - and after that we will decide on an exact date to send in the letter," commented the bank governor today in Zagreb.
It is believed that Croatia is aiming to fully join the Eurozone and adopt the Euro by 2020, however in spite of speculation this has yet to be confirmed.
There certainly will be no public referendum as to whether Croatia should ditch the Kuna and take the Euro, at least according to the Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic. When asked whether the people would get a chance to vote on the country’s economic future the Prime Minister replied that a referendum had already taken place when citizens voted to join the European Union back January 2012.
The ever popular, and by now traditional, second hand sale organised by the Dubrovnik Foreign Circle will once again be held this April. The NGO have announced that this year’s sale will be held in April in the Grand Park Hotel and will be the tenth time that the sale has been held. Every year all the proceeds from the sale go towards a good cause.
The exact dates and in fact this year’s beneficiaries have yet to be announced but the Dubrovnik Foreign Circle need your support to make this year’s second hand sale as successful as previous years. How can you help? By donating your clothing (men, women and children), accessories, jewellery, household goods towards this great humanitarian cause. “As in past years we need you and are counting on you to be successful. Thank you,” commented the Dubrovnik Foreign Circle on their social media accounts.
For now, just collect all those items that you think might be useful for the second hand sale and as soon as the collection points, dates and times are announced The Dubrovnik Times will let you know.
It is hard to find a schooler who doesn't like traveling. Experts from Pro-Papers suggest that study trips are much more than just exploring new things as they can greatly influence the student’s academic progress. Therefore, many educators are interested in organizing trips for their students.
When teachers start planning a journey, they first connect various tour operators. No matter whether they want to travel to a neighboring city or take a trip overseas, there are many service providers who can make it easier for educators to plan their journeys to the smallest details in the space of a few days.
It is their responsibility to take care of tickets, transfers, hotel reservations, etc. Some travel services may even offer instructors free travel opportunities or many other incentives to encourage them to initiate study trips. Below is a brief overview of the top-rated student travel service providers.
Education First
This is the world's leading tour operator specializing in organizing educational tours for youngsters abroad. Based in Cambridge, the company, along with its numerous offices scattered in more than fifty countries, have been providing services for more than forty-five years. Their target audience is teachers, middle and high school pupils, and college students.
The operator helps learners to achieve their academic goals much easier by offering them not only educational tours but also cultural exchange, language, and degree programs. All educators who choose Education First get a great chance to benefit from the Global Rewards Program, which offers them many incentives, including free travel and various gift encouragements.
Brightspark
Based in Chicago, it organizes study and entertainment trips for young people. Many teachers turn to this service provider, since the latter can greatly simplify traveling by planning every detail as well as customizing their services to fit any group's need. The company is dedicated to helping educators with the entire travel management process and, thus, even gives some fundraising tips.
The operator helps educators to plan trips across the USA, South America, Canada, and Europe. Students can explore the architecture of Chicago and taste their favorite pizza, or discover memorials in the capital of the US. Teachers can also choose a 9-day trip to Europe for their students, where they can enjoy the view of Buckingham Palace, take a picture against the background of the Eiffel Tower, observe the Pantheon, and so forth.
ACIS
Since 1978, the operator has played a leading role in providing travel services for middle and high school students. With it, youngsters can visit various spots scattered all over the six continents, taste authentic food, and live in hotels located not far from historic sights, and so forth.
The most wide-known spots include Kia Ora in New Zealand, where youngsters can discover the location of Maori and enjoy dolphin sightseeing cruises, and Matsumoto city, in Japan, where students can visit its famous namesake castle and take a bullet train ride.
StudentUniverse
This is one the most prominent travel booking sites on the globe. By cooperating with more than seventy airlines, it offers numerous trips for young people throughout the planet. Large groups of students can greatly benefit from this site by purchasing airline tickets at discounted prices. Since 2015, the company has partnered with Flight Central to offer cheap trips to the UAE, India, China, and Australia.
No matter what clients want to discover - bustling streets of Europe, enormous mountain ranges of South America, or stunning views of the UAE, - StudentUniverse will cover them. If students want to take a country tour, then they will also be offered many places to visit, including incredible national parks such as Zion, Badlands, and Bryce Canyon.
Globus Student Discoveries
With the experience of more than eight decades, the Globus family of brands, which consists of more than thirty tourism and aviation companies, offers more than four hundred tours to more than seventy lands scattered all over the six continents. When it comes to domestic destinations than there is nothing more popular with students than the capital of the USA, Gettysburg, and Boston. In Europe, an increasing amount of students tend to visit France, Italy, and England. The operator offers customized services to suit any need.
Educators can take free trips if they form a group of at least ten students. Moreover, they are accommodated in hotels at no cost at all. Those with qualified groups get an incredible opportunity to earn a one-thousand-dollar donation for their educational institutions.
WorldStrides
This tour operator was created in the 1990s, and today it is known for offering study tours for schoolchildren and university students all over the planet. With the exception of great trips abroad, the operator plans trips to local spots and the most popular one is Washington D.C.
There, learners can get a deep insight into the history of their country and its capital. A four-day tour allows youngsters to explore such great places as the Smithsonian museums, the Lincoln Memorial, and others. Instructors can use the services of this tour operator as well. Qualified instructors can take a journey with their pupils at no cost at all and even may be given an allowance for each kid who takes a trip.
Even though there were strong reports that the most powerful coffee chain in the world was planning to open their first coffee shop in Croatia this year it appears that Starbucks will not open in Zagreb after all.
The Seattle based coffee giant had been rumoured to have their eye on a space in a popular Zagreb shopping centre, however an official statement from the company had now denied these rumours.
Starbucks will certainly open a café in the region shortly, but in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
The Starbucks main office for this region said in a statement to the media that “We have no plans at this point to open a Starbucks in Croatia.”
The demographic crisis that is surely one of the biggest social problems in Croatia today has seen hundreds of thousands of young, educated Croatians leave for a brighter future in other European Union members. Ever since Croatia became a full member of the EU back in 2013 the number of Croatians moving to new European pastures has grown and, apart from Germany and Sweden, one of the magnets is Ireland.
Frustrated with the economic situation, poor salaries, slow legal system, corruption and the political ineptness at home thousands of young and professionally educated Croatians have made a new life on the Emerald Isle.
And according to new data the number of Croatians who have moved to Ireland has increased tenfold in the period from 2013 to 2018 compared with the period before EU membership from 2002 to 2013, writes Slobodna Dalmacija.
Since entry into the European Union an estimated figure of 21,500 Croatians have moved to Ireland. To put that number in perspective that’s just over half the population of Dubrovnik.
The new analysis shows that the peak of the emigrant wave to Ireland was in 2016 when 5,312 people moved addresses. And last year that number had fallen to 4,346.
Every year, especially through the warmer summer months, social media is jammed packed with videos and photos of Dubrovnik, but every now and again one jumps out from the crowd. This video, from Outdoors Croatia Facebook, is one of those that not only jumps from the crowd, it leaps.
Entitled “Morning run on the walls of Dubrovnik” the video has all the elements to attract a large audience – drop-dead gorgeous views over the Old City of Dubrovnik, the Game of Thrones soundtrack, aerial views and even a cute dog – what more could you ask for?
Check out the video below