Gem Set Hrvatska: Cilic Foundation, Top Croatian Stars Play Tennis for Petrinja
July 11, 2021 - Over 6 months after the devastating Petrinja earthquake, some of Croatia's top sporting stars are descending on the town to put smiles on children's faces - meet Gem Set Hrvatska.
The international football and tennis attention may be on London today with the Wimbledon and Euro 2020 finals, but the cream of Croatian sporting talent will be on show in the town of Petrinja for the first two days of next week, as some of Croatia's top stars come together for Gem Set Match, a humanitarian action by the Marin Cilic Foundation to raise funds for new sporting facilities for the Dragutin Tadijanovic Elementary School, which along with the rest of the town, was badly affected by earthquakes in December 2020.
Have you ever seen Luka Modric play tennis?
I visited Petrinja and the surrounding region the day after the most devastating quake (read more in Majske Poljane, Glina, Petrinja: A Foreigner View of Croatia's Emergency Response). Apart from the traumatic devastation, I was impressed once again at the camaraderie of Croats helping each other in time of need, as car licence plates from all over the country descended on the region with food, clothes and blankets. A truly humanitarian response.
Slowly, however, Petrinja disappeared from the headlines, and but for a few worthy private initiatives, one hears little about the reconstruction efforts. But that is about to change next week, with a very inspirational initiative from the Marin Cilic Foundation, which has managed to persuade some of Croatia's top stars to come to Petrinja on July 12 and 13 for Gem Set Hrvatska, a 2-day tennis spectacle which will see the stars competing against each other, as well as a host of other activities.
Petrinja will be transformed into a kind of tennis village, modelled on the world's top tennis tournaments. The main tournament itself will be held on July 13, where famous tennis stars will partner with famous stars from other sports. The tournament will take place on the recently built playground in front of Dragutin Tadijanovic Elementary School.
The two days will be filled with various activities, sport and cultural events, including cinema screenings, blood donations, sports workshops, health and entertainment activities, and plenty to eat and drink.
Entry to the two days is free, with tickets available for the tennis tournament via Entrio. Funds raised will be donated for the construction of sporting facilities.
And what a line-up of stars confirmed so far. In addition to Cilic, they include Luka Modric, Marijo Mandzukic, Mate Pavic & Nikola Mektic (fresh from their Wimbledon triumph), Borna Coric, Ivan Dodig, Donna Vekic, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic, and Ante Rebic.
A fabulous gesture from them all, and it promises to be an amazing and memorable event for the children of Petrinja.
You can learn more about Gem Set Hrvatska on the official website.
Iron Age Danube Route Presented
ZAGREB, 11 July 2021, 2021 - The Iron Age Danube Route was formally presented in the archaeological park Necropolis under the Tumuli in the northern town of Goričan earlier this week as the first Council of Europe certified cultural route originating in Croatia.
The Iron Age Danube Route has the great potential to contribute to the diversification of the tourism industry in continental Croatia, the presentation was told.
Sandra Herman, State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, said that this cultural route runs through 14 continental counties.
"Sixteen percent of tourists who come to visit continental Croatia are motivated by culture, compared to thirteen percent in coastal destinations," she said.
The Council of Europe launched the Cultural Routes programme in 1987, certifying 45 routes since then, including 14 routes that pass through Croatia, said Tatjana Horvatić, head of the Department for Movable, Ethnographic and Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Media.
"The routes develop destinations that are not known well enough but are certainly attractive," she added.
The Iron Age Danube Route currently includes 22 members from six countries - Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Germany and Slovenia.
Rudi Grula, Director of the Međimurje County Tourism Board, said that the archaeological park the Necropolis under the Tumuli is the result of the years-long Interreg project Slovenia-Croatia. The park features a regional information centre and theme workshops on the Iron Age.
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67th Split Summer Festival to Open on 14 July with "Cavalleria Rusticana"
ZAGREB, 11 July, 2021 - The 67th Split Summer Festival opens on 14 July with a premiere of Pietro Mascagni's opera "Cavalleria Rusticana", and the festival's programme includes operas, dramas, ballet performances, as well as exhibitions, concerts, book presentations and a chanson cabaret, a press conference heard.
The Split Summer Festival will take place in Peristil Square and several other locations, including Meštrović's Crikvine-Kaštilac complex, the Emanuel Vidović Gallery, Gajo Bulat Square, Sustipan, the City Museum of Split, the Meštrović Gallery, the Česma park in Vrlika, the Marko Marulić City Library and Sveti Filip i Jakov, where the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) Split will perform Ilija Zovko's drama "Francuzica" on the last day of the festival.
The festival closes on 14 August on Sustipan, where Judita awards will be presented.
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Mayor Mato Franković Invites All Brits to Dubrovnik from July 19
July 11, 2021 - Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković has invited all Brits to Dubrovnik from July 19, when self-isolation measures are lifted for amber list countries.
Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković gave a statement to Times Radio in which he invited the British market to vacation in Dubrovnik this summer, reports HRTurizam.
Namely, the UK authorities have made a new decision for the travel of their citizens, according to which from July 19, those returning from countries from the "amber list" and are vaccinated with two doses or are under 18, will no longer have to self isolate for 10 days after returning to the country, which includes returning from Croatia.
For Dubrovnik, the decision is critical given that it is the British market that holds the leading position in the number of tourist arrivals in the city.
"This is great news, and we see that a lot of European countries are going in that direction. Of course, we still need to be careful about the presence of the Delta Variant, but with both doses of the vaccine, people can be free to travel and enjoy. I must also say that we started direct flights with London even before this decision of the UK government and that the plane was full," said Mayor Franković in an interview with journalist Carole Walker.
She was also interested in what measures are in force and what the situation is in Dubrovnik today.
"Everything is open, masks should be worn indoors, and for clubs that gather more visitors, there is a rule of entry with a negative test or both doses of vaccine received," the mayor explained.
He also invited the British to come to Dubrovnik because they are having a warm summer and no crowds at the moment, so this time is an opportunity for a nice and pleasant vacation.
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Croatia’s Coronavirus Update: 58 New Cases, No Death, 592 Active Cases, 71 Recoveries
ZAGREB, 11 July, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 3,453 tests conducted or coronavirus, 58, that is 1.7%, have returned positive, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Sunday.
Currently, there are 592 active cases, including 106 hospitalied patients, and of them eight are palced on ventilators.
In there last 24 hours no COVID-related fatality has been registered.
A total of 3,626 people are self-isolating.
Since 25 February 2020, when Croatia registered its first case of the infection, there have been a total of 360,826 registered cases, 8,227 people have died as a consequence and 352,007 have recovered, including 71 in the last 24 hours. As many as 2.191,742 coronavirus tests have been performed.
As at 10 July, 2,814,234 doses of vaccines have been administered, with 1,550,632 people having received at least one dose and 1,263,602 of them having received both doses.
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Croatian PM: Srebrenica Atrocities Are Defeat of Humanity
ZAGREB, 11 July, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković says in his message on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Srebrenica tragedy that the insane atrocities committed in Srebrenica amounted to the defeat of humanity and that Croatians are in their thoughts with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On Sunday Plenković wrote on his Twitter account that today "the tribute is being paid to thousands of innocent Bosniak victims who will never be forgotten."
The killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak civilians, men and boys in Srebrenica 26 years ago when that eastern Bosnian enclave fell into the hands of the Serb force was described by the Croatian Prime Minister as "insane crime " which amounted to the defeat of humanity.
During this year's commemorative events, remains of 19 Srebrenica victims will be buried in the Potočari memorial centre. The youngest victims unearthed from mass graves are Azmir Osmanovć, who was a 16-year-old boy when he was killed, and 17-year-old Fikret Kiverić. Also the remains of 24-year-old girl will be buried today.
So far, the funeral rites have been organised at the Potočari centre for 6,652 victims who were exhumed after the war from mass graves or from unmarked individual graves.
The families of another 237 victims buried their dearest ones in other cemeteries after the identification of the remains.
Also, the remains of 88 victims not yet identified are in the ossuary in Tuzla. In several cases, the agreement has not been obtained from families for burials as long as only parts of the bodies of their dearest ones are exhumed and identified. Those families wait for the discovery of the all the remains of those victims.
Since early Sunday morning, hundreds of mourners started flocking Srebrenica and Potočari.
To date, 48 sentenced for Srebrenica genocide to a total of over 700 years
International courts and local courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia have to date sentenced 48 wartime officials and military and police officers of Bosnia Serb to a total of more than 700 years
Five high-profile convicts have been given life sentences for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in July 1995 in Srebrenica. The wartime political and military leaders Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić were tried for charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Srebrenica, Prijedor, Ključ, and other districts of Bosnia, and these two masterminds of the Srebrenica tragedy have been sentenced to life in prison by the UN tribunal ICTY.
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72nd Edition of Dubrovnik Summer Festival Kicks Off
ZAGREB, 11 July, 2021 - The 72nd of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival began on Saturday evening at the traditional ceremony which included the hoisting of the festival's Libertas.
The ceremony was addressed by Mayor Mato Franković who, among other things, spoke about the importance of freedom.
In attendance at the ceremony were Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Josep Borrell, as well as some of the guests who had participated in the Dubrovnik Forum earlier in the day.
This year's festival will run through 25 August, and its programme includes over 60 plays, concerts, dance and folklore performances that will take place at a dozen venues,
The budget of the 72nd Dubrovnik Summer Festival is nearly HRK 8 million, which is HRK 1.5 million more than in 2020. The festival's own funds, including revenues from sponsors, donors and tickets, account for 30% of the budget.
The Dubrovnik Summer Festival was founded in 1950. Unique ambiance of indoor and open air venues of the historical City of Dubrovnik makes a perfect stage for many theatre, music, opera and dance performances during the festival.
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Highlights of the Week: 5 Big Events in Croatia from July 5 - July 11, 2021
July 11, 2021 - July is always a key month in Croatia and this year, despite the still ongoing pandemic, has not been the exception and has brought very important news for Croatian tourism, economy, industry, and sports. Here are our five highlights of the week, recapping the big events in Croatia from July 5 to 11, 2021.
We continue to enter one of the busiest months of the year for Croatia, and the favorable epidemiological situation is reflected in the number of flights and stays, mainly on the Dalmatian coast. Regarding sports, the EURO 2020 page has been turned to give rise to wonderful news in tennis, as well as the great expectation for the athletes who will represent Croatia in the next Olympic Games. Likewise, the first weeks of July have given very positive moments for the future with the visit of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Layen, who congratulated the Croatian Recovery and Resilience Plan and showed her support, in addition to meeting also with Croatian genius Mate Rimac, who this week announced the powerful union between Bugatti and Rimac Automobili. Here's a quick review of this week's news.
Bugatti becomes Bugatti Rimac with Headquarters in Croatia
Oliver Blume (CEO of Porsche), Lutz Meschke (Deputy Chairman and CFO of Porsche), and Mate Rimac held a live conference at the iconic 14th-century fortress in Dubrovnik. (Credits: Rimac Automobili Official Facebook Page)
At the beginning of last month, Mate Rimac introduced the newest addition to its line of electric hypercars: the Nevera. And it wasn't the only big news of the year for the genius behind Rimac Automobili after he announced a spectacular new campus on the outskirts of Zagreb, as well as the future robotaxis service in the Croatian capital in 2024. When we were all thinking That Rimac would settle for those big projects, the Croatian pulled another ace up his sleeve and announced the union between his company, Rimac Automobili, and the French giants, Bugatti Automobiles. The union was made public through photos that included cars from Rimac, Bugatti, and Porsche, who earlier this year announced a millionaire investment in the Croatian company. To further celebrate the important agreement, an event was held in the walled city of Dubrovnik, where Mate Rimac, Oliver Blume (CEO of Porsche), Lutz Meschke (Deputy Chairman and CFO of Porsche), gave a press conference at alive.
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Croatia To Be Represented By 60 Athletes in Tokyo Olympic Games
The 20-year-old and first Croatian boxing Olympian, Nikolina Čačić, is among 60 athletes who will represent the country in the biggest sports event. (Credits: Igor Kralj/PIXSELL)
The postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was just one of the many consequences of a pandemic that profoundly affected the world of sport. However, if there was any way to view the situation as a glass half full, it was from the perspective that it could mean more preparation time for Croatian athletes. The road has been hard, in which teams such as the men's basketball and handball teams fell in the final stages and failed to qualify. But amid sadness, joys also occurred, such as the gold and classification achieved by Barbara Matić in the discipline of Judo or the presence of the first Croatian Olympic boxer, Nikolina Čačić, with only 20 years. A total of 60 athletes will represent Croatia in the next Olympic Games, which are scheduled to open on July 23.
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Record Weekend at Split Airport with 65,000 Passengers, 160 planes
It was a record weekend at Split Airport with 65,000 passengers and 160 planes, equaling the passenger traffic at Split Airport during the last weekend of July last year! (Credits: Velimir Marinkovic/Pixabay)
It was said, in the months before the beginning of summer in the European continent, that the great advance of vaccinations in their populations would bring favorable results towards the high season. And so it happened... for some countries. Among them, Croatia has seen rising numbers of flights and reservations both in hotels and private accommodations through the eVisitor system every week. Very favorable figures have been reported that, in addition to surpassing those of last year, do not have much to envy those of a normal year such as 2019. It is not only worth highlighting the massive presence of tourists in Istria, Zadar, Dubrovnik, or Split, which reported this week the arrival of 65,000 tourists and 160 planes, but also the diversity of tourists among Germans, Czechs, Slovenians, Poles, and even Americans. However, the virus continues to haunt the continent and with the latent threat of the Delta variant, even more so considering the recent declines in the vaccination process in Croatia, especially in young people. Thus, several ministers and authorities have spoken out to ask the population not only to be responsible and cautious but also to continue being vaccinated, with the aim of preventing the return of restriction measures that could put the Croatian economy in a very delicate situation.
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European Commission Gives Greenlight to Croatia's Recovery and Resilience Plan
On Thursday, the European Commission gave a positive assessment of Croatia's recovery and resilience plan, worth €6.3 billion, which could significantly boost the country's Gross Domestic Product and create 21,000 new jobs by 2026. (Credits:Goran Stanzl/PIXSELL)
May was a decisive month for the Recovery and Resilience Plan supported by Plenković, which seeks to make a powerful investment in the labor sector, the scientific sector, in education, infrastructure, among others. The package was finally presented by the Croatian Prime Minister at the end of that month and brought to the European Commission in Brussels. A little over a month has passed and the reception has been positive, and it is that within the visit of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Recovery and Resilience Plan was one of the main topics, and she herself highlighted and congratulated its design and objectives, thus showing her commitment and support to a plan that seeks to generate thousands of more jobs by 2026 and positively revolutionize the Croatian economy. Among the different activities carried out by Von der Leyen in Croatia, it is worth highlighting her visit to the Rimac Automobili headquarters, after sharing a press conference with Mate Rimac and Andrej Plenković.
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Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić Won Wimbledon
Mate Pavić (left) and Nikola Mektić celebrate victory against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the mens' doubles final. (Credits: Adam Davy PA Images/PIXSELL)
A great victory for Croatian sport came after Nikola Metkic and Mate Pavic became Wimbledon champions in men's doubles, after defeating Spaniard Marcel Granollers and the Argentine Horace Zeballos in the final with 6-4, 7-6 ( 5), 2-6, 7-5 after two hours and 43 minutes of play. The Croatian tennis players had been reaping a series of important victories that led them with considerable merit to the grand final, where the Croatian pair finally prevailed. For Pavić, this is the third "grand slam" won in the men's doubles competition, in 2018 he won the Australian Open with Oliver Marach, and last year the US Open with Bruno Soares, while Mektić won his first "grand slam" in this competition. For Mektić and Pavić, this was already the 10th final of this season and the eighth title, but convincingly the biggest.
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From Monday to Sunday, we list five events featured on the front pages of Croatia's news portals.
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Croatian Umpire to Make History at Wimbledon Finals
July 11th, 2021 - For the first time in Wimbledon's famed history, the men’s singles final match between Novak Đoković and Matteo Berrettini will have a female umpire: it will be the Croatian umpire, Marija Čičak.
After the great success of the Croatian doubles, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić, who have secured their first Wimbledon title yesterday, some Croatian flavour will be present today on the Wimbledon Centre Court. Marija Čičak is one of the world's top tennis umpires, and her amazing career will reach one of its greatest moments today. She has already been in the position of running the Wimbledon finals: in 2014, she was the chair umpire as Serena Williams beat Garbine Mugguruza, and in 2017 she umpired the female doubles finals.
But, a female umpire on the last day, the men's singles final match? That has not happened at the All England Club!
US Open, another Grand Slam tournament saw two female umpires officiating both female and male finals in 2015 - and, yes, Marija Čičak was one of them, in charge of the female finals, while Eva Asderaki-Moore sat in the chair for the men's finals. But, things change even at the bastions of tradition, and Wimbledon is absolutely one of those.
Marija Čičak, 43, was born and raised in Zagreb, where she played tennis until the age of 18. During her university years, the Croatian umpire tells in an interview with WTA tennis last year, she started officiating as a hobby, never expecting to become a professional. And after being a pro umpire, she can say that she's achieved it all!
Novak Đoković of Serbia will be playing for his 20th Grand Slam title today, his 6th in the All England Club against the 7th seed, Italian Matteo Berrettini. Berrettini also made history for his nation, being the first Italian singles player in the Wimbledon finals.
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Croatia Water Polo Team Wins Sardinia Cup ahead of Olympics!
July 11, 2021 - In the 2nd round of the Sardinia Cup in Cagliari, Croatia defeated the host Italy 15:12. Since they also beat Russia the day before (14:5), Croatia took home the winning trophy with a maximum of 6 points.
The match proved to a solid extent that this is still a preparatory period. In the second quarter, Croatia won 6:1, and a quarter later, Italy celebrated 6:2. The first quarter was equal with alternating team leads (1:0, 1:2, 3:2, and 3:4 for Croatia). With the goals of Miloš and captain Bušlje, Croatia took the lead at 6:3, Renzuto reduced it, but immediately afterward, Bukić, Lončar, Obradović, and Fatović scored for 10:4 for Croatia at halftime.
Italy managed to reduce Croatia's advantage to just two goals for 12:10 Croatia. In the last quarter, the hosts were just one goal behind on two occasions (11:12 and 12:13) but could not equalize. Obradović shook Italy's net at 11:12, a goal by Michael Bodegas reduced Croatia's lead (12:13), and two consecutive Croatia goals followed. Bukić scored with less than three minutes to go, and 53 seconds before the end, the left-handed Joković scored for the final 15:12.
Italy and Russia will play for second place on Sunday at noon. Croatia will return to Split and Zagreb via Rome on Sunday. After that, they will have three days off and then the final gathering in Zagreb on Thursday, July 15. Croatia travels to Tokyo on Monday, July 19.
"We played another great tournament and deservedly won it. This is a good overture to the most important thing that follows, the Olympic Games. I'm looking forward to a good game. Although we witnessed a phenomenal game in the first two quarters, I am sorry that we did not stay in the same high rhythm until the end. We got into some trouble in the third quarter, which is good to be happening to us now, in these tournaments. But we knew how to react and pull ourselves together. I am glad that we had a game like this, which was not a one-way street, but that we got into certain problems and reacted in a good way and won," said coach Ivica Tucak.
"We did what we imagined. We fixed the game, but it’s still far from our best. I am sure that these few days off that follow will come in handy, after which we will make good use of the preparations in Zagreb and go to Tokyo in ideal shape," concluded captain Andro Bušlje.
Source: HVS
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