May 10, 2021 - The 33rd round of the Croatian First League was held from May 7 to 9, 2021. In this round, Gorica topped Osijek, Hajduk was better than Varazdin, and Dinamo secured the Croatian championship title after defeating Rijeka at Rujevica. 

Lokomotiva v. Slaven Belupo (3:1)

Lokomotiva and Belupo opened the 33rd round on Friday, May 7, 2021, in Zagreb. 

Krstanovic scored the first goal of the match in the 9th minute for the Belupo lead. Simic scored an offside goal for Lokomotiva to keep Belupo in the lead, but Simic returned 4 minutes later to equalize for 1:1 (25'). Kacavenda made it 2:1 for Lokomotiva in the 65th minute, while a double yellow for Maric saw Lokomitva play with a man down from the 71st minute. 

Pivaric scored in the 90th for 3:1 final score. 

Lokomotiva is in 8th place with 29 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 31. 

Sibenik v. Istra 1961 (1:0)

Sibenik and Istra met on Friday, May 7, 2021, in Sibenik. 

The match's only goal came in the 48th minute when Sahiti scored for the Sibenik lead and eventual win. Bailone was sent off the pitch in the 73rd minute, forcing Sibenik to play with a man down for the remainder of the match. 

Sibenik is currently in 6th place with 35 points, while Istra is in the last place with 25. 

Gorica v. Osijek (1:0)

Gorica and Osijek met in Velika Gorica on Friday, May 7, 2021. 

Jovicic scored the only goal of the match in the 48th minute. The game was nearly impossible to play due to adverse weather conditions. 

Gorica is currently in 3rd place with 59 points, while Osijek is in 2nd with 68. 

Varazdin v. Hajduk (0:1)

Varazdin and Hajduk met on Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Varazdin. 

The match's only goal came in the 89th minute when Livaja scored a penalty for the Hajduk win. 

Varazdin is currently in 9th place with 27 points, while Hajduk is in 5th with 51. 

Rijeka v. Dinamo (1:5)

Rijeka and Dinamo closed out the 33rd round on Sunday, May 9, 2021, at Rujevica. 

Menalo put Rijeka in the lead in the 1st minute of the game for 1:0. Dinamo's Gvardiol scored from offside in the 16th minute, but an own goal by Galovic saw Dinamo equalize for 1:1 in the 43rd. 

Misic put Dinamo ahead in the 48th minute, and another Rijeka own goal (Capan) made it 1:3 for Dinamo one minute later. Orsic scored in the 64th for 1:4, and yet another own goal in the final minutes by Vukcevic gave Dinamo the 1:5 victory. 

With this win, Dinamo became Croatian champions for the 22nd time, three rounds before the end of the championship. Rijeka sits in 4th place with 51 points. 

You can see the full HNL table HERE.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

May 9, 2021 - This year's edition of the "Visla" Polish Film Festival will take place from mid-May in four Croatian cities -- Split, Rijeka, Dubrovnik, and Osijek, with the latest Polish film productions on the program.

The program will open with Maciej Pieprzyca's film "Icarus. The Legend of Mietek Kosz", which won the Silver Lions and the award for the best leading role Dawid Ogrodnik at the 44th Polish Film Festival Gdynia and scooped two 2020 Polish Eagles for best sound and best music.

Inspired by real events, the film tells the story of virtuoso jazz pianist Mietek Kosz, who won the top prize at the Montreau Jazz Festival and had a great career, which did not bring him happiness.

Piotr Domalewski's second feature film, "I Never Cry," deals with themes of economic migration, lack of financial stability, and emotional indifference.

In the film "Interior," Marek Lechki, the author of the cult and award-winning "Erratum," tells a touching story of two people who have to tear down everything they have fought for so far to find happiness.

The program includes the latest animated film "Kill It and Leave This Town."

The documentary film "Lessons of Love" by Małgorzata Goliszewska and Katarzyna Mateja, about a woman who has done what others expected of her for decades, will also be screened.

In addition to feature films, short films will also be screened, including Stanisław Cuske's "The End of the Season" and Tomasz Śliwiński's "Ondine."

The festival will take place in Osijek on 13-16 May, in Split from 24 May to 1 June, in Rijeka on 26-29 May, and Dubrovnik on 18-26 June.

From April to November, the festival's 14th edition will also take place in several other countries, from Albania and Belarus to Iceland and Uzbekistan.

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

May 9, 2021 - The shooting of the minority Croatian co-production film "Transition", a debut feature by Dutch director Jacqueline Van Vugt, began in Pula this past week.

During a ship voyage from Morocco to Spain, the film takes place, and three stories related to the fear of loss are intertwined.

Desperate, the protagonists are trying to find a way to each other, but their helplessness leaves room for the inevitable. It is a said release from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), which has also supported it.

The film is a Dutch-Belgian-Croatian co-production, and Croatia's co-producer is Siniša Juričić (Nukleus Film), and a mostly domestic film crew is in charge of the shooting, which will last 30 days. In addition to Pula, the film will be shot in Rijeka, Zadar, and Zagreb.

Producer Germen Boelens said that a film in Morocco and Spain and is being shot in Croatia was demanding in itself. Still, everything had been much easier given the experienced and well-prepared crew in Croatia.

Of course, the whole situation with the virus is changing the work process, but we have, as always, adapted to all the required conditions. Hence, we comply with both Dutch and Croatian epidemiological measures and thus maximally protect the entire crew.

After Pula, the film will be shot in Rijeka, on 15 and 16 May, then in Zadar, and finally in Zagreb. The film should premiere in late 2022.

Croatian co-producer Siniša Juričić from Nukleus Film said that the collaboration started when he met at a workshop producer German Boelens, who realized that he wouldn't be able to realize his project in Spain, asked if he could do anything in Croatia.

According to him, as many as 85% of the film crew are from Croatia -- Ana Bulajić Črček is the makeup artist, Zorana Meić is the costume designer, Petar Strmečki is the gaffer, and actors come from six countries.

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

May 9, 2021 - The Conference on the Future of Europe, a citizen-led series of debates and discussions that will enable people from across Europe to share their ideas and help shape our common future, was officially launched on Sunday on the occasion of Europe Day.

The formal ceremony of the opening of the event was held in Strasbourg.

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the ceremony, European Parliament President David Sassoli, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Prime Minister Antonio Costa of Portugal, the current chair of the Council of the EU.

About 500 participants, citizens of the EU, and civil society associations activists participated in today's video conference, and the Conference executive board's co-chairpersons answered their questions.

One of those co-chairpersons is the European Commission's Vice President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica.

Multilingual digital platform in 24 languages

The Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe, comprising representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission, is launching the multilingual digital platform for the Conference on the Future of Europe, inviting all EU citizens to contribute to shaping their own future and that of Europe as a whole. The platform is available in 24 languages, allowing citizens from across the Union to share and exchange their ideas and views through online events.

All Conference-related events that will be registered on the platform will be visualized on an interactive map, enabling citizens to browse and sign up online.

This Conference is an unprecedented exercise for the EU, Šuica tweeted.

"This has never been tried before, but we are confident that this will strengthen both our Union & our representative democracy. And there is no better date to celebrate that than on #EuropeDay," she added.

For more, follow our dedicated politics section.

May 9, 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has sent a message of support to the Global Citizen initiative and the Vax Live concert, underscoring the COVID-19 pandemic will be over only when the whole population has access to vaccines.

For 16 months, we have been living with the pandemic that has completely changed our way of functioning and our lives. It has affected our health situation, our economy, and financial stability and influenced the way the world is now functioning, Plenković said, among other things in his message.

"VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World," featuring performances by Jennifer Lopez, J Balvin, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, and HER, was held at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday 2, May. The event was pre-taped and broadcast on TV channels worldwide and YouTube on Saturday, 8 May. 

Global Citizens helped mobilize 302 million in commitments so far to provide more than 26 million doses of vaccine against coronavirus.

Croatia's Prime Minister also recalled that several initiatives, including COVAX, were launched in Europe during the Croatian presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020.

Croatia will continue supporting efforts to mobilize forces for such activities at the national, European, and global levels.

CROATIA pledged as part of the VAX LIVE campaign to share 50,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as part of a bilateral agreement in coordination with COVAX, the European sharing mechanism. The doses will go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo. Croatia also committed €500,000 (US$600,000) to COVAX.

"We shall continue to be one of the countries that supports these activities, both on the national level, but also at the European and global level, too," said Prime Minister Plenković.

Messages were also sent by Pope Francis, U.S. President Joe Biden, Prince Harry, and some other very important persons. Pope says, "I beg you not to forget the most vulnerable."

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

May 9, 2021 - Serbia's Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin promotes the defeated Great Serbia policy and makes groundless objections against Croatia, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Sunday.

Croatia's recent decision to increase its troop contingent in the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo seems to have angered Serbia's senior officials and prompted Vulin to say that Croatia and Kosovo "are brothers by arms " and accuse the Croatian foreign minister of wishing to deploy "an occupying force on the territory of Serbia."

Vulin is actually promoting the defeated policy pursued by Slobodan Milošević, the conquering Great Serbia policy that had claims on what did not belong to Serbia, said Grlić, underscoring that on the other hand, Croatia has never demanded any border redrawing.

Addressing reporters in Zagreb on Sunday after the opening of an exhibition on the occasion of Europe Day, Grlić Radman said that the objections directed against Croatia are Serbia's attempt "to shun its responsibility and to divert attention; from its problems to non-topical issues."

"When it comes to the international recognition of Kosovo, Serbia is aware of the international pressure. It is a reality, and it is projecting its frustrations onto Croatia," Grlić Radman said.

He also recalled that Croatia has always supported and supports Serbia's integration into Europe. However, he warns that "the journey to Europe goes via Croatia."

In this context, he said that the situation in the Western Balkans is one of the topics on the agenda of the regular monthly meeting of EU foreign ministers set for Monday and that Croatia "is not satisfied with a state of democracy in Serbia and its struggle against corruption and efforts to carry out reforms."

He reiterated that Serbia also fails to comply with the 2004 agreement on protecting the Croat minority.

For more, follow our dedicated politics section.

May 9, 2021 - From overtourism to pandemic reality - why a Dubrovnik Hop On Hop Off bus must be part of the tourism strategy for the Pearl of the Adriatic.

I have learned an awful lot about Dubrovnik in the last 12 months. 

For years - with the VERY notable exception of the Feast of Patron Saint, St Blaise one February (here is why it is the best time to visit Dubrovnik) - I tended to avoid the city, assuming the stereotypes of an expensive and overcrowded destination with little to offer outside its historic old town were true. 

How wrong I was. 

The first part of my education was a long-overdue first visit to the three Elaphite islands of Kolocep, Lopud and Sipan. Tranquil Dalmatian island heaven just a heartbeat from the main action, as I noted in my first report from these magical jewels in Arise Kalamota! Kolocep, 30 Mins from Dubrovnik But a World Away.

Catching up with friends at Sunset Beach on Lapad was another world away from the old city, and a very pleasant spot if developed properly (of which more in a moment). 

Looking around, the concept of Dubrovnik the tourist destination beyond the city walls and in the surrounding region was rather an exciting concept. Mljet, Korcula and the Elaphite islands are a pretty formidable island tourism quintet. Add to that the vineyards of Peljesac, the oysters, salt pans and walls of Ston, the traditional way of life of Konavle, plus the neighbouring UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mostar and Kotor, and suddenly Dubrovnik is an altogether different proposition. 

But how to communicate that message of Dubrovnik beyond the city walls to the tourism market?

This is something that Zagreb has succeeded with superbly with its launch last year of Around Zagreb, a joint initiative from the city and regional Zagreb tourist boards to promote the beauty of the whole county as one, thereby opening up many tourism options for people arriving in the Croatian capital. Something similar for Dubrovnik would work well, I believe. 

But then on the first weekend of the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program, I chanced upon something better - one of the most educational and innovative tours I have been on in a while. It was a 90-minute tour which started and finished by the entrance to the the old city at Pile Gate, but one which did not mention the old city once. 

And it was both fascinating and HIGHLY educational, as well as the perfect introduction to the city. 

Marko from Adriatic Sunsets contacted me on the day our nomads were arriving to offer them a free sunset photo tour of Dubrovnik away to the city. He felt that it would be the perfect introduction to the destination, allowing them to both enjoy astonishing views and to discover how much there is to see and do beyond the famous walls. 

And what an education it was. A superb audio tour, with 27 minutes of packed and enticing information about the sights and history of Dubrovnik away from the old centre. The audio is triggered by GPS and so perfectly timed to inform. Apart from several magnificent photo stops, each part of the tour was accompanied by a wealth of information. The history of Gruz, the route of the former train line to the north, the Zarkovica dog shelter, a pop up cocktail bar for the perfect sunset - the list goes on. (see video below).

Last week, I met the team running Sunset Beach and heard of their plans to upgrade this important Dubrovnik asset. A fully revitalised Sunset Beach, properly marketed and fully accessible, would be a major attraction. The new plans are bold and exciting, and I will write about them as soon as I am allowed to.

But the mixture of the developments at Sunset Beach and the Adriatic Sunsets tour got me thinking. There is SO much to see and do in and around Dubrovnik that a simple Dubrovnik Hop On Hop Off bus concept would work brilliantly. More importantly, it would send out a very clear message to tourists that there is a LOT more to do in the city than squeeze into the old town with everyone else. 

Imagine a Dubrovnik Hop On Hop Off bus with stops at the ferry at Gruz, the Red History Museum, Sunset Beach, a traditional village close by where an authentic Dalmatian dining experience awaited. A couple of spots up in the hills for those amazing sunsets with a cocktail or two. And several other stops that those with better knowledge of Dubrovnik than me could suggest.  

And only after getting to know the Dubrovnik outside the city walls do you enter the UNESCO zone.

One of the things I am really enjoying about the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program is the raw impressions of the ten international nomads in the city. They are a really great group of humans, who are gelling really well with each other and the community. As expected, their insights and suggestions will push the destination into new directions. I really enjoyed interviewing Ron Tardiff the other day, especially his answer to my question:

"Dubrovnik, perception and reality - how has your feeling about the city changed?"

His answer is worth noting for those planning the city's future tourism direction. As you can hear in the interview above, Ron would never have considered Dubrovnik before, but he is loving it. But he has hardly been in the old town, finding more than enough to keep him occupied in Lapad. Dubrovnik outside the city walls was something he was totally unaware of prior to his arrival. He is not alone. 

A Dubrovnik Hop On Hop Off bus would change all that. Its mere existence would inform tourists that life beyond the walls was worth exploring, and give an instant new focus to tourism is this most beautiful of destinations.

To learn more about Kings Landing, check out the TC Dubrovnik in a Page guide.  

May 9, 2021 - The project Togetherness / Togetherless by Croatian architect Idis Turato will be representing Croatia at the 17th Venice Biennale, an international exhibition of architecture that is taking place from 22 May to 21 November after it was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Croatian Pavilion has been set up in the Arsenale and will be formally opened on 21 May, the Ministry of Culture announced at a press conference earlier this week.

The project answers this year's theme of the exhibition, "How Will We Live Together?", conceived by Lebanese architect Hashim Sarkis, the Biennale and Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The exhibition will focus on space in the context of growing political divisions and economic inequalities. The Croatian team offers a concrete architectural answer with simple architectural elements serving to create an instantaneous community, the press conference was told.

Turato said: "This year is possibly the best year to participate in the Biennale because no one knows how we will live together."

He said that the Togetherness / Togetherless project has evolved from several projects conceived for the Rijeka 2020 - European Capital of Culture program. It addresses challenges of togetherness, the position of an individual in society, the crisis in cities resulting from the development of new technologies, digitalization, changes to working and housing conditions, and the often unclear understanding of the role, use, planning, and development of public space.

The Pavilion is designed as a spatial composition, an assemblage of actors suggesting that everyday basic elements can create a specific ambiance, the space of an instantaneous community, which at the same time signifies the need for closeness and living together of individuals and the inability to achieve togetherness fully. Space is defined by three universal elements of architecture - a floor, a pillar, and a roof, which are materialized as an assemblage of ready-made elements using mass production resources from Rijeka's industrial heritage.