June 5, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Pula. 

Croatian Aviation reports that in its latest statement, Emirates further postponed the start of traffic on the Dubai-Zagreb route.

The company first postponed the line to July, then to August, and the latest news is September. Emirates is currently offering sales on the Dubai-Zagreb route from September 1 this year, four times a week; on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Boeing 777-300ER aircraft have been announced on the route, which has several different configurations in the fleet of this airline, so depending on the registration of the aircraft, they can carry between 354 and 442 passengers.

Considering that Emirates turned the Zagreb line into a seasonal service, and that the partner FlyDubai operates on the route in the winter flight schedule, the chance that Emirates will return to Zagreb this summer is slim. According to the plan, the already mentioned FlyDubai should take over the line from the end of October.

Qatar Airways, a competitor to Emirates (along with Etihad), is still on sale for 3 weeks from the beginning of July to Zagreb, but changes are also possible with this airline in the next two weeks.

The largest aircraft (both in terms of technical specifications and the number of seats in the passenger cabin) in Zagreb was Emirates, while Air Canada Rouge and Korean Air flew with long-range and capacity aircraft to the Croatian capital. However, both have canceled their flights completely for this summer. Air Transat still has a line between Toronto and Zagreb on sale, 3 times a week since the beginning of July.

Furthermore, Avio Radar reports that Swiss airline Edelweiss Air resumed its service from Zurich to Split on June 4. The week, Edelweiss will also arrive on Sunday, June 7. By the end of June, this line will be in service twice a week,  on Thursdays and Sundays, with the Airbus A320 aircraft. From July, the route will operate 5 times a week, or every day except Wednesday and Friday. 

The other two Edelweiss lines for Croatia are planned from July, i.e., the Zurich-Dubrovnik line twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays from July 3, and the Zurich-Pula line, also twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from July 1. 

Finally, Avio Radar reports that Latvian airline Air Baltic will establish a route between Riga and Rijeka from June 17. Flights from Riga were scheduled for July 29, but the carrier decided to launch a month and a half earlier despite the current corona situation. The line will operate on Wednesdays with an Airbus A220-300 instead of last year’s Boeing 737-300.

Air Baltic also announces flights to Split and Dubrovnik from June 20.

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

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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.

May 28, 2020 - At the prestigious American festival the Telly Awards, which was held for the 41st time, Croatian tourism films again won big.

HRTurizam reports that the Telly Awards showcases the best works recorded for television and other media each year. The festival received more than 13,000 entries from all five continents, and the winners of the Telly Awards represent the work of some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers from around the world.

The films of the production company Balduči Film were awarded three big prizes:

• CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION - gold for the best film in the category promotional film Travel / Tourism

• CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION - gold in the category Branded Content: Videography / Cinematography, for which the cameraman Jalil Armijo is responsible

• RIJEKA - I miss you - the silver winner of Telly in the category Branded Content: Travel / Tourism

The films were written by Spomenka Saraga, who is also the producer, directed by Herve Tirmarche and cameraman and editor Jalil Armi.

"In ancient times, Socrates said that there are no coincidences and that every coincidence happens for a reason. That's how we in the team think. When you win the first prize, you think by accident, but when the prizes happen often and for almost every film in our production, we are convinced that this is the reason for the quality of our films. We are sorry when some clients do not trust us, do not want to pay the registration fee for participating in the festival, but they congratulate us and look forward to mutual success. I believe in my team, I believe in our films that have recognizable handwriting, and yet they are different. Every award makes us happy, from the smallest to the largest and every award is welcome because it has a motivating effect. We are often not awarded at a festival, sometimes we do not enter the final round, but we still send our next film to the festival aware that we cannot always win - but we like to compete and prove ourselves. The selection of the winners is a matter of the jury's taste, the number of films received and it is often difficult to decide who is better - I know this from my own experience as a jury member at many festivals," said Spomenka Saraga, producer and screenwriter of the award-winning films.

So far, these films have already won several awards: at the largest ITB tourism fair in Berlin, the silver at the jubilee 20th edition of THE GOLDEN CITY GATE festival, and the silver at the New York Festivals for the film RIJEKA I MISS YOU, which is normally awarded in Las Vegas during the NAB show, which like the ITB in Berlin was not held, so the prizes will be delivered to by mail.

"The films compete in several more festivals and expecting results, we hope for some more awards," concluded Saraga.

Films produced by BALDUČI FILM have won over 50 world awards and recognitions in the last 13 years, the Grand Prix, and the films UNIQUE DUBROVNIK and DUBROVNIK AND TIME have entered the top 10 tourist films in the world.

You can watch the movies in the attachment.

CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION

The film CROATIA YOUR NEXT FILMING DESTINATION was made with the support of the Croatian National Tourist Board, interestingly without the support of HAVC, in order to promote Croatia as an excellent destination for shooting all types of films.

RIJEKA I MISS YOU 

The film RIJEKA I MISS YOU was shot for the Tourist Board of the City of Rijeka, and Croatian actors also took part in the film: Alen Liverić, Natalija Đorđević, Jana Škrgulja, Edi Ćelić, photographer Iva Znaor and girl Lara Zgrablić. In addition to the actors, there are other members of the team: Bobby Grubić, Robert Kalčić and Pavle Kaplanec.

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

Maj 22, 2020 - The Prime Minister toured the most luxurious ship in the world, currently anchored in the port of Rijeka, not far from his sister vessel, which construction began recently in Rijeka shipyard 3. maj as a part of an investment worth 860 million euros

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, accompanied by Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko Horvat, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković and Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli, visited the Scenic Eclipse, the best luxury ship in the world according to critics from last year. The luxury 6-star ship, owned by the Australian Scenic Group, sailed into the port of Rijeka this month, where it will remain until the situation with the coronavirus calms down.

We will be looking for solutions that will enable the continuation of Croatian shipbuilding because it was fascinating to see that in such difficult circumstances a ship like this was built in Uljanik. Many of the shipyard employees contributed greatly to the construction of this ship, although it ended with one incredible personal engagement of the client himself. The whole idea is to start with further investments, this time in 3. maj. Such ships, according to the captain are the best there is at the moment when it comes to polar cruisers and will be built in the Rijeka shipyard in the future, said Prime Minister Plenković. He also stated that the intentions of the Scenic Group are still very strong and a solution is being sought on how to proceed with these processes in the right way.

Prime Minister Plenković and ministers were welcomed in Rijeka by Saša Čokljat, director of MKM Yachts, a subsidiary of the Australian corporation Scenic, which has ordered Eclipse II. Australian businessman and Scenic Group owner Glen Moroney greeted them via video call from Switzerland. On this occasion, Čokljat once again expressed his satisfaction with the excellent cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Croatia, which has recognized the importance of the project and the long-term development perspective it can provide to the Croatian shipbuilding.

I am extremely glad because, at the moment when other cruising companies are putting their projects on hold, Scenic Group and 3. maj are starting a new business. We believe that this job will not only strengthen Scenic's fleet but also the shipyard itself. The activation of state guarantees awaits us soon which will enable a needed work to start the construction in full swing of the sister luxury polar cruiser ship. I believe that one such construction creates an opportunity to preserve rich tradition in shipbuilding, the continuity of production and knowledge, and hundreds of jobs, said Čokljat.

If we make a recall, cutting the sheets for the hull of the ship "Eclipse II" in April concluded a new project of building five cruisers worth 860 million euros. The first 1,000 tons of steel from a total of 4,500 arrived from North Macedonia. The hull keel is scheduled to be laid in 3. maj by the beginning of this summer. Then, the construction of four more ships with similar characteristics is planned. 

"Scenic Eclipse" was also built and completed at the Croatian shipyard Uljanik in July 2019. Its construction is specific because, at a time when the ship was only half-way completed, Uljanik ended in a blockade and bankruptcy. Scenic then set a precedent - it did not collect 50 million euros of state guarantees, but it returned them to the state - it kept the ship and continued construction with its own funds and manpower. There are two helicopters on board for trips to distant places, as well as a submarine that can dive to a depth of 330 meters below the sea surface to provide guests with an unforgettable and unique adventure experience. At the christening ceremony in New York last year, the godmother of "Scenic Eclipse" was the famous actress Helen Mirren.

Now meet the original Scenic Eclipse. You can learn more about Scenic Eclipse on the official website. 

May 21, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Zadar, and Split.

Croatian Aviation reports that Brussels Airlines announced on Tuesday that in its current summer flight schedule, it would not fly to two destinations in Croatia - Zagreb and Zadar.

The company decided to cancel all unprofitable lines, as well as those bordering on profitability (in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Greece), which led to the cancellation of two lines to Croatia.

For now, Brussels Airlines will keep the Brussels-Split and Brussels-Dubrovnik routes on sale, while the routes to Zadar and Zagreb have been withdrawn from sale.

The Brussels-Zadar line was introduced in May 2018 as a seasonal line, while the line between Brussels and Zagreb was introduced in 2015.

On the route between Zagreb and Brussels, there will still be the option of a direct flight, as Croatia Airlines operates between these two cities twice a day in the conditions of normal air traffic.

Furthermore, Ex Yu Aviation announced that Eurowings would grow its presence in Croatia, but at reduced frequencies.

Namely, Eurowings will add services to the Croatian coast by resuming flights from Stuttgart, Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Split.

Its Cologne-Zagreb service, which has been maintained throughout most of the coronavirus pandemic, will be reduced from two to one per week in June. The lines from Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Rijeka, Dusseldorf to Pula and Cologne to Zadar will resume once per week on June 20.

“We can feel the growing desire of people to travel again and relax and enjoy their holidays after a long period of travel bans. This is exactly what we are now making possible with our extended summer schedule – reliably, safely and with all due caution. Travelling, whether private or professional, will be possible again," said Eurowings’ CEO, Jens Bischo.

Ex Yu Aviation adds that Eurowings’ parent company Lufthansa will not resume any of its destinations in the former Yugoslavia before June 15. You can read more about that on Ex Yu Aviation.

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

May 12, 2020 - As CEO Michael O'Leary announces the resumption of 40% of its schedule from July 1, what does that mean for flights with Ryanair to Croatia?

It has been quite a day for flight news for Croatia so far, and it is not yet midday. 

Firstly BA is now selling flights to both Split and Zagreb from June 15, as reported earlier. And then THIS.

Ryanair plans to restart 40% of its flights from July 1. You can read all the detail in the link to The Guardian above, as I have no value to add to that announcement. 

But what specifically does this mean for Ryanair to Croatia? With so many people using Ryanair to Croatia, we have had more emails about this than anything else in recent weeks. Especially regarding flights to the main Ryanair destination on Croatia's Adriatic coast - Zadar. 

As I don't have any inside information about Ryanair, we have to look at the online tools available, most notably the Ryanair booking engine. 

Which shows us some VERY interesting things, and not such good news for the thousands of Brits and Irish tourists planning to fly Ryanair to Zadar. 

The plan, it seems, is for Dublin and Split to be connected once more, with the first flight on July 2. 

Same story with Dubrovnik and Dublin, starting on July 1. 

But Zadar? Not a single flight to Zadar from the UK or Ireland to Zadar with Ryanair is showing. 

But Ryanair has not abandoned Zadar completely, far from it. Flights from Milan are due to recommence twice a week on July 3. 

Three times a week from Vienna from July 1. And the same story from various other European cities. But not from the UK and Ireland. 

And the UK love with Ryanair to Croatia continues from London Stansted to Pula from July 2. 

And to Rijeka from July 3. 

But to Zadar, seemingly at least, nothing at all. I will see what I can find out. If anyone has any info, please contact me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Ryanair. 

You can of course search for your own flight info on the official Ryanair website.

You can keep up to date with the latest flight news in the dedicated TCN flights to Croatia section. 

May 11, 2020 - The Croatian Music Association and the Porin Board of Directors have concluded that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 27th Porin Music Awards will be held exclusively on television

T.portal writes that the decision to postpone Porin was made on March 11 due to the epidemiological situation in Croatia. Thus, Unison - Croatian Music Association and the Porin Board of Directors, taking into account the opinion and forecast of the experts, decided to hold the 27th Porin Music Awards exclusively as a TV show on HRT, for the first time in its long history. The show will be held on Friday, May 15, 2020, at 8:05 pm on HTV 1 and HR 2.

Following the recommendation of the Civil Protection Headquarters and county epidemiological services on measures to be taken until the situation with COVID-19 normalizes, which includes a ban on gathering more people in one place (especially indoors), it was decided that to protect the health of all musicians, but also all in the organization of the event, this year's Porin will be held exclusively as a television show. All participants will report from their homes. More information about the awards show itself will be known in the coming days.

It is important to point out that the money with which the founding associations (HDS and HGU) would support the Porin Music Award has been redirected to funds to help musicians in these difficult times.

Refunds for tickets purchased for the planned event in Rijeka can be requested at the points of sale where they were purchased, and if the tickets were purchased through the Eventim website, through their website.

Recall, according to the votes, the most nominations were received by Urban & 4 and the Zagreb Philharmonic for the album "Live at Lisinski" and the song "Iskra", Opća opasnost with the album "Karta do prošlosti" and Nikola Vranić, better known as JR August, with the album "Dangerous Waters".

The album of the year nominees are J. R. August with "Dangerous Waters", Psihomodo pop with "Digitalno Nebo", Chui with "Iz kapetanovog dnevnika", Vanna with "Izmiješane boje" and Opća opasnost with "Karta do prošlosti".

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

ZAGREB, May 2, 2020 - A group of about 20 citizens staged on Friday a peaceful protest rally in Rijeka's main street Korzo against the measures taken by the National Civil Protection Authority to stop the coronavirus epidemic and called for all measures to be lifted.

Three protesters were taken to the police station because they had refused to show their IDs, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Police Administration said.

Protesters carried, among other things, banners saying "We demand immediate abolition of all absurd measures", "We don't want fascism, despotism and totalitarianism" and "Civil protection measures don't save lives, they kill".

They said that this was a civic initiative, that they "are protesting against this totalitarian regime, they want everything to return back to normal, an acknowledgement of the artificially created virus and for the introduction of the 5G network to be stopped."

The police said that the rally outside the city administration building, which started at about 11 a.m., had not been reported to the police, but that the organisers had posted the call on social networks.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

April 25, 2020 -  The public panel 'European Capital of Culture - what to do?' was held regarding the Rijeka 2020 program. The discussion took place on April 24 via online chat service Zoom.

T.portal reports that the discussion was organized by Sanja Bojanic, Natasa Antulov and Marin Lukanovic from the Academy of Applied Arts, University of Rijeka, with speakers including Emina Visnic, director of Rijeka 2020 and Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel, who spoke about the coronavirus impact on the European Capital of Culture, but also on culture in general.

The panel started with a statement by moderator Natasa Anutnov that a temporary suspension of the program was announced on April 17, and that 59 employees of Rijeka 2020 were laid off, while it was announced that the program was being restructured. She also confirmed that they had contacted the Ministry of Culture about participating in the panel, but no one had replied.

She asked Rijeka 2020 director Emina Visnic about what has been happening in her organization over the past month.

“First of all, I want to send a clear message: the ECOC as a project has not stopped nor has any of us who run the project said anything otherwise. Why speculations saying the opposite came up and why obituaries were written is another question, and I am personally interested in finding that conclusion,” said Visnic, who presented a calendar of activities undertaken since the crisis began. The ECOC, she noted, is much broader than Rijeka 2020 and touches many program partners.

Following the announcement of the program postponement on March 12 because of the decision by the National Civil Protection Headquarters, a discussion was held with partners leading larger segments of the program. The ban was estimated to last longer than previously announced, but at the time, they still hoped that work could begin by June. At the time, everyone thought that the virus would pass, but only now its impact is fully seen, and Visnic believes that life would not just return to normal.

'We had been planning this program for two years, and then in just one month, we had to change the framework urgently. The final program cannot be discussed now. Everyone asks, 'How much to cut, how much money?' And today we do not have an answer to that question because the Ministry of Culture should answer our inquiries next week," said Visnic, adding that most programs are in principle a public gathering, which will not be possible until June - and maybe later.

She further outlined all the activities they had undertaken in Rijeka 2020, all the conversations they had, and the suggestions they made towards the founders of Rijeka 2020, like hibernating the company and terminating activities or reducing workload, which was accompanied by reducing the number of employees. In the second variant, because canceling the project was rejected, the procedure was offered in two phases: the first, which they passed and which meant the said cancellations, and the second, to resume at the latest in June and July, which offers two variants, one with more and one with fewer programs.

The document was sent to the Ministry of Culture and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and it is not a final but a starting document, said Višnić, who also commented on the criticism that Rijeka 2020 has been invisible in recent weeks. The truth is, she confessed, that they had not communicated for two weeks, which she said she would take responsibility for if necessary. She added that the final version of the program proposal was made without a partner, which was mentioned as one of the main issues.

Mayor Vojko Obersnel estimated that thirty million kuna would be needed for the "new" ECOC, but that no one knows how much will eventually be provided to continue the project.

Along with him were Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, Rector of the University of Rijeka, Davor Mišković, Head of the Drugo More Association, Program Operator Dopolavoro, and Damir Čargonja, representative of Novi turizam d.o.o. and organizer of the Privremene Autonomne Zone program.

The talk, broadcast by Radio Roza, was also attended by numerous cultural figures and other interlocutors, from Vitomira Loncar, Aljosa Puzar, Ksenija Zec, Goran Sergei Pristas, Marcello Mars, Zvonimir Peranic and Daniela Urem to Irena Kregar Šegota, and formally linked to by the ECOC project.

The rector of the University of Rijeka, Snjezana Prijic-Samarzija, said that at this moment we must 'be hyper-ambitious'.

“We must not show the slightest weakness here. We should use all our strength because this is symbolic, Rijeka must not give up! We will all be guilty and responsible if we fail to return the ECOC to the fullest extent possible now,” she said.

Davor Miskovic of Drugo More, in charge of implementing the Dopolavoro program direction, presented his view of the current situation with a concrete example, but also considered the situation from a broader perspective and artists in Croatia and abroad.

“We did some projects for two years, the artists worked on them, researched, produced... We just needed to finish them. In some ways, together with our partners, we have said that we will realize them anyway. In any format - they will happen. The problem is with big spectacles involving a lot of people, as this is still unknown, it depends on the mode of our future lifestyle. The problem is also with the artists who had to come from, say, America or Canada, as that fell through, and Dopolavoro narrowed down significantly,” Miskovic said, describing the current situation as a gigantic crisis in culture.

Marcell Mars, one of the researchers at the Center for Postdigital Cultures at Coventry University, who worked with his colleagues on the 'Piratska skrb' project for Rijeka 2020, agreed. Mars sees solidarity as the only path to a concrete solution.

“Solidarity is the key. It is a question of survival and we need to put it as a key focus. We need to build a story that will have its basis in solidarity,” he said.

The situation was also addressed by Sergei Pristas, playwright and full professor at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, University of Zagreb, and co-founder and member of BADco., a performing arts collective.

“Rijeka is currently at a crucial historical moment, at the moment of redefining what culture is in the context of this moment. The focus should be on culture, not repertoire,” he said.

Ksenija Zec, choreographer and author of dance and drama plays and a professor at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb where she teaches Stage Movement, gave her opinion on the topic of digitizing culture, which is increasingly mentioned in public because of the new situation, and explained that it is not so simple for numerous reasons.

“Digital art is not just a recording of a theater play," she said, adding: “Everything we do at the moment is a pledge for the future. The criteria should not be reduced, but the formats should be reduced.”

The sharpest criticism of all that was said in the official part, before the discussion, was addressed by Vitomir Loncar, who warned that there could be no gathering still in September or October.

“There are no suggestions for online activities in all your plans, which means you are not seeing the times we are living in. The presentations show that you act as if you have a decades-worth of time, the future, and the situation is long gone,” Loncar said, while Puzar and Čargonja referred in particular to layoffs for employees in Rijeka 2020.

“I was shocked by the dismissal of the workers, and I signed the letter. But I am also shocked by the letter, it is written as it is written, not too much is being asked for, but it is a disappointment to those people who lost their jobs and rebelled,” said Čargonja, adding that some who were listed as the signatories did not actually sign the letter. To the mayor's remark that most of them responded, "I don't know, but the generation has rebelled and wants to exercise their rights. That always had to be ahead of the rest.”

You can listen to the full panel discussion here.

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

April 15, 2020 - Rijeka's head of the Department of Culture, Ivan Sarar, discusses the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Rijeka 2020 program.

In these challenging coronavirus times, the cultural sector is strongly affected, but since it shares the fate of other sectors, it does not seem to enjoy much public discourse.

In this context, Rijeka is living a unique story. What was supposed to be a cultural feast in the year of the European Capital of Culture - when we expected to hold debates in ideological, sociological, ethical, artistic, critical-theoretical and other conversations - became the burial ground of culture where victims are collected.

Rijeka's head of the Department of Culture, Ivan Sarar, interviewed with Novi List to discuss the impact of the pandemic on the Rijeka 2020 program.

In an interview with Novi List, the Minister of Culture announced that the Ministry would not be able to pay the agreed financial support to the ECOC. What is the amount?

"It is still unknown how much the Ministry of Culture's financial support will be for the ECOC project."

In terms of the City of Rijeka's financial obligations to the ECOC, what, or how much, will be the issue?

"Over the past three weeks, the City of Rijeka, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and in an effort to help outright disadvantaged private sector businesses, has taken a number of measures that directly affect the city budget cuts. Similarly, the measures were also adopted by the state, also with regard to reducing the liabilities of the economic sector, which also has a direct impact on filling the income tax budget. So there is only one thing in such uncertainty: there will not be as much funding for the ECOC program as originally planned. And it is impossible and ungrateful to give concrete figures at this time."

Rijeka 2020 announced the restructuring of the program. What are the requirements of the Rijeka Department of Culture in terms of deadlines? When does Rijeka 2020 have to come up with a new proposal and in what direction will it go, to your knowledge?

"The program, which began on 1 February 2020 and was to run until 31 January 2021, is planned, prepared and organized over four years. Now it needs to be redesigned, significantly reduced, revised to over 250 program activities that originally had to include more than 600 events in a very short time.

Basically, a significant reduction in the overall budget should have been foreseen, but through certain logical criteria that we discussed earlier. Rijeka 2020 completed this first revision this week with several possible scenarios.

I was personally involved in this review, the first proposal was also submitted to the City and will be sent to the Ministry of Culture. It is certainly not the final document, and it does not constitute a definitive list of the programs of the "new ECOC", but is the basis for further discussions between the City, Ministry, PGZ, Rijeka 2020 and the partners involved.

The biggest challenge we all face is not really the number of programs or funding, but the total uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, which cannot be influenced by anyone, and it directly concerns the number of programs and future available resources and the timeframe for implementing any programs withheld. I'm saying that it concerns the audience themselves on those programs. Because it is perhaps crude to predict when the situation will normalize, it is much harder to predict the extent to which people will regain old habits and what their behavior will be, but also the expectations of citizens."

Are the infrastructure investments of "Bencic", "Galeb", and "Exportdrvo" in question? Are the European funds for "Bencic" and "Galeb" in question?

"So far, infrastructure investments are not in question. They have their own dynamics of work and payments, they are financed with significant amounts of EU funds and there are no major problems in this part of the project. The Sugar Palace and the Children's House are already in an advanced stage of construction before all work is completed.

We are facing smaller mobility issues and smaller delays in the delivery of materials and parts that have been ordered from abroad, but it is likely that these facilities will not be open to the public before the termination of the measures of reduced social contacts, or before the real possibility of offering ongoing program activity."

How much has the City of Rijeka disbursed approved funds to the users of Public Needs in the Culture of the City of Rijeka for 2020?

"There were no payments for public needs this year."

What is the debt of the City of Rijeka regarding the public needs before 2020?

"The City of Rijeka's debt to the beneficiaries of the 2019 Public Needs Fund is HRK 315,000."

What policy will you take to maintain approved programs, which have all been delayed, and disbursing funds for approved programs?

"The budget for public cultural needs for 2020 is around HRK 3.5 million. Given the liquidity of the overall budget in the new circumstances, we will strive to maximize payments for all programs held so far, including debt for the previous year. With regard to approved programs, it is certain that due to a budget deficit, we will have to go for a reduction in funding. We are just finalizing the priority criteria by which we will reduce program resources. We intend to maintain stability within the cultural sector in such a way that priority will be given to associations that have employees, freelance artists and all those projects where the financial structure suggests the existence of existential well-being for actors in the urban cultural scene."

What are the budget estimates for next year's Department of Culture, given the new situation with the coronavirus crisis?

"It is impossible to predict the budget for 2021 at this time; we still do not have any input from which to know what the financial framework is. The only certain thing is that it will be very tight. But it's too early to say how much.

We are currently considering urgent measures to run the projects as normal in the current year, as well as considering several models for the survival of the ECOC as Croatia's largest cultural project."

What measures are you taking in the Department of Culture to protect self-employed artists, small businesses in the cultural and creative sectors, and the self-employed, whose livelihoods are already threatened?

"Measures have been adopted on a city-wide basis for all those who cannot work in these conditions. The mayor also announced the possibility of extending measures to monitor the situation. These measures now relate to deferrals and write-offs - rents, utility bills, monumental rents, surtaxes and more. I partly answered this question in my earlier answers, as well.

As far as the self-employed are concerned, the City of Rijeka has not foreseen direct financial assistance in any crisis measure so far. We are in intensive communication with the Ministry of Culture, which has opened several lines of measures to assist the self-employed so that we can eventually contribute to this segment. The problem in this is the considerable clutter in the records as well as the very difficult job of defining the criteria for assistance that should be determined on a case-by-case basis.

On the other hand, this topic is, to a considerable extent, actually emerging from the cultural policy domain and entering the social policy domain. But I repeat, we will certainly do our utmost to maintain the continuity of payments to all who fall into the domain and have described your matter through the payment of public cultural needs. We are working on the decision to introduce rent-free studios and cultural associations."

Will there be any changes in the staffing structure of the Department of Culture and will salaries will be reduced in both the Department and public cultural institutions that are under the jurisdiction of the City of Rijeka?

"As things stand now, given the real state of budget cuts caused by this situation, it is likely that salaries will be reduced at the level of the city government, both in the city administration and in budget users and in Rijeka 2020."

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