June 1, 2020 - The 15th edition of the INmusic festival, which has been postponed to June next year due to COVID-19, will feature the international punk world music sensation Gogol Bordello, the festival organizer announced on Monday.

Led by the charismatic Eugene Hütz, Gogol Bordello brings together a diverse group of musicians and performers from all over the world, whose cultural influences also form the unique sound of the group.

Roma and Eastern European influences in Gogol Bordello's songs and performances are combined with energetic punk and dub elements accompanied by violin, accordion and saxophone.

With seven studio albums behind him, one EP, a series of guest appearances with other musicians and in documentaries and feature films, including Lie Schreiber's "Everything is Illuminated" and Madonna's directorial debut "Filth and Wisdom", in two decades of work, Gogol Bordello has established his status as one of the most attractive and unusual phenomena on the world music scene, according to the organizer.

Gogol Bordello joins the already confirmed premiere Croatian performances of The Killers, Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets and Belle and Sebastian as part of the postponed edition of INmusic Festival #15, which will take place at the Jarun Islands in Zagreb from June 21 to 23, 2021. 

Recall, the Zagreb music festival announced it would be postponed last month:

"On April 23rd 2020, the Croatian government has announced updates to the national epidemiological measures and limitations introduced in March to fight the spread of the coronavirus epidemic in Croatia, which include the expected and necessary continuation of bans for large public gatherings and events. In line with similar decisions and bans on public gatherings well into the summer months announced over the past weeks by many European governments, the expected postponement of INmusic festival #15 for June 2021 has now become official. Although we were expecting this decision, it is with a heavy heart that we accept the reality of not being able to attend live concerts and festivals this summer, but we are working hard on delivering the anniversary edition of INmusic festival to you all in 2021.

We would like to thank each and every one of you for your support, kind words, understanding and patience – you were the reason we made it this far, you remain the reason to push through this as well. 

Stay safe, take care of the people around you and keep your spirits up – this too shall pass!

See you in 2021!"

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 1, 2020 - The Croatian National Tourist Board is conducting a large promotional campaign titled 'The Vacation You Deserve Is Closer Than You Think' in seven European markets - Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.

Dalmatinski Portal writes that the campaign will be active during June and July, and is carried out by intensive advertising on Facebook and Instagram, advertising on YouTube, placing ads through the most-watched TV channels, most read portals and newspapers in each market and through outdoor advertising on billboards, city lights and digital panels.

Promotional materials and ads created for advertising are adapted to all six language variants and include tourist products that are best accepted in certain markets and are the motive for the arrival of guests at this time of year, namely the sun and sea, nautical tourism, natural beauty, active tourism through cycling and camping, but also the cultural offer. As part of the campaign, a new promotional video of 30 and 15 seconds was created, which will be used for advertising on online and offline channels in these markets.

"The first reactions to the launched campaign are extremely positive and we believe that they will encourage our traditionally loyal guests from the surrounding markets to spend their holidays in our country. Along with the campaign we are conducting, on a daily basis, we communicate to numerous partners, tour operators, agents and tourists through the network of our Representative Offices the latest information on the possibilities of crossing the Croatian border, the readiness of accommodation facilities to receive guests, and epidemiological guidelines on beaches, swimming pools and restaurants. With each new day, optimism is slowly awakening and I believe that in the end our tourist traffic during June, July and August will be much better than we hoped a month ago at the height of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic," said CNTB Director Kristjan Stanicic, noting that when good epidemiological conditions and a positive atmosphere for travel are created, the same campaign will be launched in the markets of Italy, France and the Netherlands.

Markets that are primarily air destinations for Croatian tourism, such as Great Britain, Scandinavia, USA, Canada, China, South Korea, are targeted through the campaign 'Enjoy The View From Croatia', in which all stakeholders can participate with their photos and videos.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 1st of June, 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic continues but the tourism industry begins to put the state of the economy in first place, the last minute trend in Croatian tourism has already started, meaning that tourists can now can jump on a plane and go on holiday in June with discounts from between 10 and 25 percent.

The Republic of Croatia always swung between being expensive and cheap. The hotels are typically expensive, but eating out in restaurants tends to be quite easy on the pocket. The coronavirus pandemic has altered the view of those who once deemed Croatia a cheap tourist destination, and those who deemed it too expensive will also be disappointed with the attitudes of some stakeholders in Croatian tourism, particularly hotel companies.

There will be certain price reductions and those who wish to scrape by for this tourist season will have to come to terms with the fact that the prices have been slashed and that tourists' pockets are more shallow. However, the managements of some of the largest hotel companies in Croatia have been clear - they would rather not open all of their hotels just to fill up their rooms for a much lower price.

As Vecernji list writes, "if you can't make money, why would you increase your losses?'' asks a Croatian tourism professional on the coast.

The Dubrovnik Importanne resort is among the few that has announced that it will reduce its prices by 30 percent in June and that the reductions will also continue throughout the summer season. True, these are luxury hotels, but, regardless of whether the tourists they attract come from elsewhere in Croatia or from abroad, guests include the bill for the amount of the toll payment along the route from Ploce to Dubrovnik, so the already reduced price drops by about 260 kuna if they stay for at least a couple of nights.

If, on the other hand, the stay includes at least four nights, the package is cheaper by five hundred kuna, or the amount of the toll payment in both directions.

Hotels Pinija in Petrcane, Pastura in Postira, Kolovare in Zadar, apartments Medena in Trogir, Fontana in Jelsa… all offer discounts from 25 to 40 percent. For those who don't care which Adriatic destination or hotel they are going on holiday, it will be worth the risk to wait for the "sale" to begin as Croatian tourism battles to attract tourists from at home and abroad.

For more on companies operating in Croatian tourism in the coronavirus age, follow our business page.

ZAGREB, June 1, 2020 - Public Administration Minister Mario Banozic said on Monday it was customary for investors to try to create a more favourable position in "cases" in which the state was the owner in order to shorten the procedure, but that "you don't do it" if it was estimated to be bad for the state.

"That's a customary procedure when it comes to investors. Everyone tries to pay as little as possible, shorten procedures as much as possible," he told N1 television when asked if it was correct that Josipa Rimac, a member of the ruling HDZ arrested on suspicion of corruption in a wind park case, had tried to influence him too in order to privilege entrepreneurs.

"That's something I and the ministry staff are exposed to on a daily basis. The question is, will you do something or not. If it's necessary to help, to shorten or expedite a procedure so that an investment is made as soon as possible, I'm the first one for it. But if you estimate that it's about something that is not good, that is bad for Croatian society, then you don't do it," said Banozic.

He said that his ministry, in doing any job for the state, must make an estimate. "My and the staff's estimate working on that case was that it wasn't good for Croatia, for its budget," he said, adding that he could not say much because the wind park case was being investigated.

Asked how Rimac, the state secretary at his ministry who was fired on Friday and is in custody, had been doing that, whether she had cited other officials as a reference, Banozic reiterated that it was customary procedure when it came to investors in which everyone tried to pay as little and shorten the procedure as much as possible.

"I don't find it unusual, because people call me every day," he said when asked if he had been surprised by a call from Rimac.

He said the USKOK anti-corruption office did not contact him and that he would respond if called.

June the 1st, 2020 - Zagreb has suffered being the first coronavirus hot spot in the country, a devastating earthquake, and many questions surrounding its identity in the wake of all that, as it continued to hold the presidency of the European Union.

Oblivion is the saviour of human existence. Just remember how all of us cheered with joy and went around with half empty bottles in our pockets, hoping for the midnight of December the 31st to erase all of the flaws of 2019 and give us another clean slate. Good health was one of the most frequent ingredients of most every well-wishing card (rather: of most e-mails and text messages). But, as we know, something went thoroughly wrong.

In Zagreb, the capital of the country that rightly boasts its exceptional results in fighting the new coronavirus, COVID-19, off, the old saying that ''one evil never comes alone'' unfortunately proved to be very true indeed. On March the 23rd, 2020, amidst a general lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was hit by a strong earthquake (and a series of quite serious aftershocks that followed) that caused unfathomable damages in the area, and especially in its very historic centre.

In the world of arts, after the lockdown that paralysed everything and jeopardised the sheer existence of artists, be they freelance or otherwise, the earthquake served yet another, almost fatal blow to the capital's arts and culture scene. The blow came with such a force that almost every single theatre had to be put out of use, just like most museums, galleries, art institutions and schools.

The impression is that, due to the coronavirus epidemic around the globe, the bad news in Zagreb fell very much under the radar and without the level of attention it deserved. Somebody felt that much more attention was needed. And that was a Croatian agency called Unimedia.

Unimedia is an agency which boasts wide range of professional services in public communications, promotions, campaigns, tourism films, short films and documentaries. In short, you name it, Unimedia probably does it. Their successful collaboration with the internationally respected Zagreb Soloists gave them an inspiration, says Unimedia’s owner Nikola Mihaljevic:

''The day after the earthquake it became clear that the Zagreb Soloists were deprived of their only proper stage in Zagreb. The legendary hall of the Croatian Musical Institute (HGZ) was so damaged that it was dangerous to even peep inside. We then went around Zagreb with our camera to see and register other venues of historic and cultural importance. Disheartened, sad and impressed in the worst way possible by what we saw, we felt we should provide our lshare in trying to repair the consequences. I knew from the start that, due to the sheer level of the damage, a fund raising action made little sense.

How much could we even raise, what would it mean at all? It would have been a drop in the ocean. My experience in communications, however, told me that what we could do something to raise awareness of the need to repair and restore all of the facilities without which not only Zagreb, but all of Croatia, would lose its relevance, meaning, its history and with that, its entire cultural and civilisational future. I called Mr. Kruno Maric, Chairman of Board of the Zagreb Soloists and suggested the idea. We couldn't just sit twiddling our thumbs waiting for someone to come along and do all of it for us.

We must act now and try to do what we can. That was the first call in a series of calls and meetings that ensued. Of course, it took some time to pass the trajectory between the idea and its form and the final programme. I named it ''Zagreb, I love you so'' (Zagreb, tak imam te rad) after the legendary ballad dedicated to the city.

What was the first idea?

Well, my first idea was for the Zagreb Soloists to provide a concert in the damaged hall of the HGZ without any audience and to stream it on the web. But of course, it didn't make much sense and I started seeking help at other addresses. Then I concluded that the highest instances with the mandate over culture, science and heritage are the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Ministry of Culture. While the answer from the Academy came almost immediately, the reaction from the Ministry arrived only after repeated messages and telephone calls. And quite some. Unsurprisingly.

Maybe they thought you were just another person coming and asking for money?

No way. Our idea was explained clearly and distinctly. As said earlier, the only aim of this little mission is to raise awareness of the fact that if we don't take to a thorough, professional restoration of the venues vital for performing arts and arts and sciences in general, to the buildings that we hold and cherish our national memory, our entire future of a civilised nation with a real identity is at stake. At this moment in time, in this devastating situation with the aftermath of the earthquake and the coronavirus pandemic, awareness is so vital, it is a prerogative to a proper, complex action. We want everybody to be aware of the scope of this calamity and its invisible consequences.

Are you thinking of some particular target groups?

No. Not at all. The target is - everybody, from the highest authorities and institutions to the widest general public reachable, from politicians to a retired grandma reading newspapers on a bench in the park. I should hope we can eventually grow and as such attract more and more attention. This is only a modest, optimistic start that isn't pretending that it will change the world, but aims to rekindle something not necessarily active in the awareness of people.

So, in the wake of the earthquake and amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic - how do we begin?

We've conceived a small programme consisting of two events. The first is going to take place on a live web stream at noon on Tuesday, June the 2nd, 2020. It's hopefully only the first in a series of more discussions on the subject. In this first one, we're going to hear the viewpoints from HAZU’s Prof.sci. Mladen Obad Scitaroci, from Ms. Iva Hraste Soco of the Ministry of Culture, from Milana Vukov Runjic of the City of Zagreb and, in the name of arts, from Krunoslav Maric of the Zagreb Soloists.  It's going to be streamed by our main media sponsor Vecernji list and in collaboration with Opis Film, our partner company.

Total Croatia News is proud to join all the media that will announce and follow this praiseworthy initiative. In the following days, make sure to follow our further coverage of the second part of ''Zagreb I love you so'' -  a very special concert of the Zagreb Soloists on the evening of June the 7th, 2020 at 20:00, which will also be streamed live on Unimedia’s channel dedicated the the initiative, which you can subscribe to here.

Let's all come together and contribute our beloved Zagreb's recovery, even if only by having it in our daily thoughts.

For more, follow our lifestyle page.

ZAGREB, June 1, 2020 - Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic said on Sunday up to 100,000 workers would be entitled to money from the government's job-retention measures, which would be adopted month by month, and that he expected shorter working hours in June.

"We decided to adopt decisions month by month so that we can follow the situation the whole time," he said on Nova TV, adding that "up to HRK 400 million for June will be paid in July" and the state budget would not be tapped for that.

"In a way, we overestimated the number of beneficiaries in April and May. We expect there to be somewhat fewer beneficiaries because the economy started opening in May, so that we will finance that measure from the internal reserves of the Croatian Employment Service."

Aladrovic said labour market trends were being followed on a daily basis and that the aid amount for the economy would be increased if necessary, "notably for the most critical sectors."

He said he did not expect mass layoffs and that shorter working hours were expected to be agreed with the social partners in June. "That could be very interesting to employers in the manufacturing and food industries."

Aladrovic said that the caretaker government could decree shorter working hours and that employers would pay for part of them and the state for the rest, so that wages would not be cut.

He said the money for such measures was envisaged in the European Commission's Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency instrument and that Croatia was expected to receive €400 million.

The instrument is expected to be presented in the coming week, he said, adding that it was a loan and the money would be allocated swiftly enough so as to impact the economy.

June 1, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, Pula, Zadar, Rijeka.

Croatian Aviation reports that German national airline Lufthansa has announced flights to a number of European destinations, and among others, the company will launch flights to Dubrovnik and Pula.

From June 20, the company will fly from Frankfurt to Pula and Dubrovnik, only once a week, for now.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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The Frankfurt - Dubrovnik line is being reintroduced (from June 20), once a week in June, every Saturday. It will operate an A320neo aircraft with a capacity of 180 passengers.

The Frankfurt - Pula line is being reintroduced (from June 20), once a week in June, every Saturday. There will be a slightly smaller aircraft (100 passengers) on this route - the Embraer190.

Lufthansa is not currently planning flights to the region from Munich, but will gradually add flights from Frankfurt. Lines to other airports in Croatia are expected to be introduced in July.

Croatian Aviation adds that Croatia Airlines is launching another domestic route. Along with Dubrovnik and Split, from June 8, the line Zagreb - Zadar - Pula will be in traffic.

The route normally operates twice a day in the summer flight schedule, but the domestic national airline is now reintroducing it with one daily flight between the mentioned cities.

From June 8, the line will operate daily, in the evening, with departure from Zagreb at 9 pm and arrival in Pula at 11 pm. Of course, this line, just like before, has a stopover in Zadar. The return flight from Pula departs at 6 am for Zadar, from where the DashQ400 plane continues its journey to Zagreb, where it should land at 07:40 am.

Passengers from Pula and Zadar will be able to continue their journey to Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Zurich and Frankfurt with minimal time in Zagreb. In the opposite direction, from the mentioned cities to Pula and Zadar via Zagreb, the waiting time between flights is long and demotivating for passengers.

Latvian national carrier Air Baltic has made operational changes to its seasonal routes to Croatia. Namely, Croatian Aviation reports that the long-term seasonal line Riga - Rijeka, which mainly operated twice a week, this year will operate only once a week from July 29 to September 16.

Air Baltic also announced the introduction of the Vilnius-Rijeka route, which was originally scheduled to operate twice a week, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Riga - Split line will operate once a week from June 29, and the second weekly flight will be introduced from July 31. The original plan of this airline was to fly on the line Riga - Split three times a week, but the number of weekly departures was reduced in accordance with demand.

The Riga - Dubrovnik line will operate twice a week from July 27, there has been no reduction in capacity and weekly departures on this line, but the start of traffic has been postponed until the very end of July.

The Vilnius - Dubrovnik line, which was supposed to operate for the first time this year (just like the Vilnius - Rijeka line), has been completely canceled for this summer season. The two-week flight on this line was originally planned.

This airline will complete the entire summer flight schedule with a unified fleet in order to reduce operating costs, so A220 aircraft are expected on all routes to Croatia, which have a capacity of 145 passengers in the fleet of this carrier.

Finally, Transavia, the low-budget subsidiary of the Air France group - KLM, announced the re-launch of certain lines from France to destinations in Croatia.

Croatian Aviation reports that from June 29, Transavia will launch a total of four routes to the airports in Dubrovnik, Split and Pula.

The Nantes - Dubrovnik line is being reintroduced with two weeks of departure (Wednesdays and Saturdays). The company currently plans to maintain that number of rotations through July as well.

The Paris Orly - Dubrovnik line is being reintroduced, three times a week (Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays). The number of weekly flights is expected to increase to a total of four in July.

The Paris Orly - Split line is reintroduced, three times a week (Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays). The company intends to increase the number of flights to as many as six a week in July.

The Paris Orly - Pula line is also being introduced, twice a week, and it is likely that this number of flights will be maintained in July.

Transavia has B737 aircraft in the fleet, versions 700 and 800, with a capacity of 149 and 189 seats.

June 1, 2020 - After the semi-final games last weekend, Lokomotiva and Rijeka will meet in the Croatian Cup final on August 1, 2020. 

Croatian football finally returned last weekend, albeit looking a bit different in the corona era. 

Namely, HNS reports that Statehood Day brought the continuation of football competitions in Croatia, and Slaven Belupo and Lokomotiva kicked off in the first semi-final of the Croatian Cup on Saturday. The match was watched live by the president of the Croatian Football Federation Davor Šuker and the coach of the Croatia national team, Zlatko Dalić.

The Koprivnica club took the lead in the sixth minute of the game, when Goda shook the net with a great long-distance shot under Grbić's crossbar (1:0).

The turnaround was directed by Zagreb in the second half, in the 67th and 79th minute of the game, when Cokaj (1:1) and Tolić (2:1) beat Filipović, with assists by Sammir, who entered the game in the middle of the second half.

Uzuni set the final score of 3:1 for Lokomotiva in injury time. 

In the second match of the Cup semi-final on Sunday, Rijeka and Osijek met in Rujevica.

Less than half an hour before the end of the game, Osijek led with 0:2 with goals by Bočkaj (16th, 48th minutes), but Rijeka managed to achieve a turnaround after playing a man up in the second half and with the help of referee Pajač. Murić (66th), Čolak (73rd, penalty ) and Yateke (86th) were the goalscorers for Rijeka.

Rijeka will thus play in the Cup final for the seventh time. So far, it has lifted the winning trophy five times (2005, 2006, 2014, 2017, 2019). Its rival in the final, which will be played on August 1 in Šibenik, will be Lokomotiva. It will be Lokomotiva's second appearance in the final, after they lost to Hajduk in 2013.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.