March 22, 2022 - 20,000 Ultra Europe tickets have been sold so far by buyers from 90 countries, confirming that Split will once again be the center of the electronic music world this summer. 

Hibernating and waiting for life to return to where it left off almost two years ago is over, said the marketing agency and event company MPG, best known to the public as the organizers of the Ultra Europe festival announced for the summer. MPG is celebrating 25 years of business. In its celebratory year, it reveals the return of the biggest live events and completely new experiences, based on innovations and rich experiences and adapted to all the challenges of the new decade, reports Poslovni.

MPG operates in 8 countries, has more than 500 permanent employees, over 4,000 part-time employees, offices in Zagreb, Ljubljana, Belgrade, and Skopje, and is a member of a strong European network of independent SSI agencies. Behind them is a collaboration with more than 250 multinational brands, numerous live events, festivals, concerts, sporting events, retail and digital marketing. The company points out that in the pandemic, the creative forces of MPG have become even more creative. As a result, the challenges have become new opportunities that have resulted in the introduction of new technologies and adapting and implementing projects that represent future marketing.

“The tectonic changes in the way we do business caused by the pandemic have been an incredible challenge for us in the global live industry. Despite everything, I am proud that MPG managed to keep most of its workers. This has been our priority because we have always invested in people, our employees, the greatest wealth this company has. I am thrilled that in the celebratory year, we can announce the return of our biggest event, the ULTRA Europe festival, which is returning to Split after two years. Our desire, mission, and vision are to create emotions and unique experiences, and we are happy to be able to return to what we do best, and that is to make people happy," said Joe Bašić, CEO and founder of MPG.

ULTRA Europe is the largest international event in the region, and after a two-year break, it will reopen its doors to more than 100,000 visitors. Just how eager people are for live events is also shown by the fact that 20,000 tickets have already been sold from more than 90 countries worldwide. This event creates one billion kuna of additional spending for Croatia and more than 35 million euros of marketing value, which brings a big and positive promotion of the festival and Split and Croatia as destinations, reminds MPG. The festival organizers added that they used the break to offer their visitors an even more special musical and production experience for the eighth edition.

For more, check out our lifestyle section. 

ZAGREB, 9 Feb 2022 - A tender for design documentation for a future medical research centre in Split was presented in the coastal city on Wednesday.

The project to build the centre, which will be located on the premises of the city's Križine Hospital, is worth slightly more than €80 million, including equipment.

The cost of design documentation is slightly less than HRK 8 million, with the entire amount provided by the EU.

The project partner is the Split Faculty of Medicine.

The future 15,500-square-metre Split Medical Research Centre will have eight laboratories - for human genetics, cell and tissue biology, bioinformatics, data analysis and statistics, cardiovascular and lifestyle medicine, tumors, neurodegenerative diseases and neuroscience, regenerative rehabilitation, and for the development of new drugs, devices, and clinical procedures.

The purpose of the project is the establishment of a major research-innovation structure which, officials of the KBC Split Hospital believe, will enhance the quality, scope and relevance of research activities in the field of biomedicine and health care, as well as enable integration with the joint pan-European network.

The future centre is expected to integrate research and clinical work of the Split Faculty of Medicine and the KBC Split Hospital.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 31 July 2021, 2021 - The command ship of the United States Sixth Fleet, USS Mount Whitney, is visiting the southern Croatian Adriatic city of Split, and its commander said on Saturday that the US-Croatian partnership on land and at sea is crucial for the military cooperation and common security of the two countries. 

The US vessel arrived on Friday and visited the Split shipyard, while reporters were invited to visit the ship on Saturday.

US Chargé d'Affaires Mark Fleming said they were glad to be in Split and that the defence cooperation between the United States and Croatia was the corner stone of their bilateral relations.

Over the last 10 years, US military aid to Croatia has reached nearly HRK 4.5 billion, which is more than $700 million, for training, equipment, infrastructure building and specialised military training, Fleming said. Since Croatia joined NATO 12 years ago, US and Croatian personnel have served together from Afghanistan to Iraq to Kosovo. The US-Croatian partnership on land and at sea is crucial for the military cooperation and common security of our two countries, he added.

US naval ships often stop in Croatia for maintenance and mutual security operations. The northern port of Rijeka has been the centre of US-Croatian cooperation since 2011, benefiting from contracts with the US Navy worth nearly HRK 900 million. This year three US naval ships have been berthed in the Kraljevica shipyard for regular maintenance.

In April, US Navy EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) divers held a training course on humanitarian mine clearance for Croatian Navy personnel and launched a project to develop an EOD training facility for the Croatian Navy.

Vice Admiral Gene Black, Commander of the US Sixth Fleet, said that Croatia stands as an important NATO ally, facilitating the maintenance of US Navy forward deployed ships.  

Croatian shipyards are world class, and mine action capabilities ensure a continued maritime presence and security in the whole region, Black said.

Dave Pollard, Commander of USS Mount Whitney, said that the US-Croatian military cooperation and sharing the same values brings stability and prosperity to this region.

After the visit, USS Mount Whitney will begin a two-week scenario-driven integrated exercise that will provide high-end training at sea and ashore against a challenging adversary force.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 13 June, 2021 - The 14th Mediterranean Film Festival begins in Split on 17 June with the screening of the Turkish feature film "When I'm Done Dying" by Bir Nefes Daha and the Croatian documentary "Split" by Renata Poljak.

The opening ceremony will take place at the summer cinema theatre "Bačvice". The other venue of the festival is the Dom Mladih (Youth Centre).

The programme of the festival, which runs through 26 June, includes films from Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Montenegro, France, Côte d'Ivoire, Slovenia, Morocco, Malta and Palestine, as well as Croatia.

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

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

April 25, 2021 - The European Throwing Cup, which consists of Shot Put, Discus Throw, Hammer Throw, and Javelin Throw, will be held in the biggest Croatian Adriatic city of Split on 8 and 9 May.

The organization of the event, which will bring together 564 athletes from 44 countries, was discussed recently by Tourism and Sports Minister Nikolina Brnjac and the Croatian Athletics Federation president, Ivan Veštić.

Veštić said that the purpose of hosting the competition was to make Split a popular European destination for track and field events.

He informed the minister that the shot put event would be held at the historical Salona venue dating back to ancient Roman times.

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

January 2, 2021 – High on the mountains, overlooking the city of Split, the historic settlement of Klis stands on the border between two distinct climate regions – the Mediterranean and the Dalmatian hinterland. The sometimes rare and extraordinary plants of Klis Fortress are characteristic of both. A new book details the flora you can find on both sides of the Dinaric Alps

The views from Klis are spectacular. The great city of Split lies below you, perched on the edge of the glistening Adriatic, beyond it, the islands of Čiovo, Šolta, Brac, Vis and Hvar. It's a view that has been admired for over 2000 years.

The view from Klis Fortress

That's how long a fortress has stood here. Restructured and rebuilt several times over the millennia, within the walls of the impressive Klis Fortress lie much of the recent history of these lands – of the Illyrians and the Romans, the arrival of both Slavic people and of Christianity, the defence of Christian Europe from the Ottomans. So steeped in history are these walls, little wonder the fortress was chosen as a filming location for the popular Game Of Thrones series.

Klis Fortress

With its view so irresistibly inviting the eye, you could be forgiven for missing the plants of Klis Fortress. That's unfortunate. The fort straddles the top of the Dinaric Alps – one half existing within the sub-Mediterranean climate of the Dalmatian hinterland, the other on the distinctly warmer side of the Adriatic. This creates a unique environment for a wealth of flora. Not used as a fortress since the threat of Ottoman invasion subsided, these days the structure usually welcomes only tourists. The plants of Klis Fortress have reached into the grounds of the buildings, indeed into its very walls.

Cymbalaria muralis - Ivy Leaved Toadflax within the walls of Klis Fortress

One person for who the plants of Klis Fortress did not go unnoticed is Ivan Limić. He lived in Klis all of his life, before leaving to get his degree, then a masters, at the Forestry department of the University of Zagreb. Today, he works for the Institute for Adriatic Crops and Karst Reclamation (IAC) on a PhD student's position. Having a specific interest in botany, he knows the plants of Klis Fortress better than most and after he met botanist Vedran Šegota of Herbarium Croaticum while in Zagreb, they decided they should work on a project together. After several years of work, that project - a book, 'Biljke Tvrdave Klis (Plants of Klis Fortress)' – has finally been released. Although helmed by co-authors Vedran and Ivan, it has actually been a project that involved a much greater group of contributors, not least the community of Klis and some of the best botanists in Croatia.

Ivan Limić, co-author of 'Plants of Klis Fortress', relaxing in a Black Pine

TCN talked with Ivan Limić to find out more about the book and about the plants of Klis Fortress

I first met Vedran when I started volunteering at Herbarium Croaticum Zagreb. I was in the city doing my degree. My main interests are forest silviculture and soil erosion, karst melioration, assessment of atmospheric deposition, study of flora, plant determination in Mediterranean region forest ecosystems and the effects of forest fires in those areas. We talked about doing a joint project because we shared similar interests. Vedran came to visit me in Klis and I wanted to show him around the fortress, but looking specifically at the flora. That's when we decided we should do a book about the plants of Klis Fortress.

Geranium purpureum, the little-robin

I walked around Klis Fortress all my life. When you live in a place, you not only acquire so much information about that place over the years, you also have an emotional connection to it. That's not something you can read in every book. Hopefully, with our book, we managed to get a sense of that emotional attachment across, so that you can really feel the place.

Agave americana

In a way, the special thing about the plants of Klis Fortress is that they are not so special at all – they are extremely characteristic. But, they are characteristic of two completely different climate regions.

On the south side of Klis Fortress, it is very warm and sunny – the Mediterranean climate. You can find species like Aleppo pine. On the northern side of Klis Fortress, it is colder – the sub-Mediterranean climate. Here, you can even get snow in winter and the most common species is Black pine. Two completely different climate regions in just a 50 metre stretch diagonally along the ground. That's what makes it extraordinary.

Salvia officinalis (sage)

The plants of Klis Fortress include more than 300 species. We have around 100 of them listed in the book. Of those, 16 are species endemic to this area. Some of those are extremely rare - you can find them in very few places in Croatia - such as Fibigia triquetra. That plant is actually one of the reasons why this book exists. When I was a child, people used to tell me that some of the plants of Klis Fortress were very unusual and very rare. I used to walk around the fortress, looking at all the plants, trying to guess which ones were the unusual and rare species.

Fibigia triquetra

The man who first identified this as a unique, endemic species actually discovered his first specimen inside Klis Fortress. All of the studies and writings he made about the plant were done here. That plant is now the symbol of Klis Fortress.

Polypodium cambricum

You can find our book in Klis library. Anyone can borrow it. It's also available at the entrance to Klis Fortress, where you buy the tickets. We wanted to give the opportunity to anyone who comes here to learn about the plants of this region – that's why we made such an effort to have the book in five languages. It was designed as a guide to the plant species of the whole Mediterranean mountain region in Croatia, so it's not just for the plants of Klis Fortress or the people who come to Klis Fortress itself.

Tordylium

Most of the photography in the book was done by ourselves. It was important to take the photographs across four different seasons. That's one of the reasons it took almost two years to write this book.

Inula Verbascifolia

As we were making progress on the book, people in Klis began to find out what we were doing. It ended up becoming a project of the wider community. The mayor of Klis supported the project financially so that we were able to publish the book professionally and the library of Klis edited and published the book.

Ephedra major

Others contributed to the design of the book and the translations, of course. Almost all of them donated their time and work to the project for free. It is quite difficult to translate some of this specific text correctly and we wanted to get it absolutely right.

Agave americana

In the end, we ended up getting contributions from Italy and France, we had one colleague from the French embassy who helped and some of the best botanists we have in Croatia contributed to the book to make sure everything was absolutely correct. For that reason, the book was approved and recommended by the Botanical Society of Croatia and can be found in the Botanical library.

All images © Ivan Limić / The Plants of Klis Fortress

December 10, 2020 – Why did the chicken cross the road? Well, to go to the dućan (store) with his owner, of course! Residents bewildered to see one man taking his pet chicken shopping in the city streets of Split.

Understanding Croatia is often like looking through a kaleidoscope – the closer you look, the more it shifts in and out of the focus of comprehension. Nowhere is that more true than in the seaside city of Split.

Visitors are not the only ones to see this. Split's inhabitants know it too. Despite its reputation for the unorthodox, happenings in Split are still capable of raising the eyebrows of those who live there. And, that was certainly the case a couple of days ago, when residents of the Gripe neighbourhood were bewildered to see one man going shopping accompanied by his pet chicken. Their casual walk to the shops, which sees the pet chicken being led on the kind of leash you'd more usually find on a dog, was captured on video. It is one of the more curious chick flicks TCN has seen this year.

Gripe in Split is a family neighbourhood, known for its sporting facilities and the old fortifications which lie on the hill after which it is named. Even in times of social distancing, it's not uncommon to find neighbours milling around, chatting to each other on a weekend morning. Their idle gossip was given egg-stra fuel on Saturday when the man and his pet chicken made their remarkable hen-trance.

As the weather across Croatia turns colder, this is the traditional time for pigs to be turned into the sausages and bacon that will last through the winter. The chickens and turkeys are safe for now, although only for another week or so. Perhaps this timing egg-splains the walking of the pet chicken? Maybe the owner didn't want to let the prize bird out of his sight so close to Christmas? Or perhaps, given that a camera seems to have been at the ready to film their exploits, the walking of the pet chicken was just a welcome moment of tomfoolery? Whichever it may be, the footage does have an endearing quality. Poultry in motion, if you will.

November 16, 2020 - Excitement for tomorrow's Croatia Portugal game is building as one of the world's greatest footballers is again pictured in Croatia - Cristiano Ronaldo in Split

Tomorrow night will see the last chance for the Croatian National Football Team to remain in League A in the UEFA Nations League when they take on Portugal at Poljud stadium. Excitement for the game is building as one of the world's greatest footballers has again been photographed in the host town. Cristiano Ronaldo in Split is not a sight you get to see every day.

Cristiano Ronaldo in Split, as seen on the sports pages of Jutarnji List © screenshot Jutarnji List

Croatian football fans were first notified of Cristiano Ronaldo in Split when the Portugal team were pictured arriving together in the city on Sunday. Ronaldo was the last man to leave the team bus. Today, a new photograph has emerged of Cristiano Ronaldo in Split. Published on the sports pages of Jutarnji List, the Portuguese captain was photographed looking out from the balcony of the Amphora Hotel in Žnjan to the east of the city. If the hotel balcony Cristiano Ronaldo in Split was pictured in is his, the Juventus forward will have a glorious, unobstructed view of Brac island from his room.

Playing under manager Zlatko Dalic, the Croatian National Football Team will be desperate to avoid relegation to League B in the UEFA Nations League with the result against Portugal tomorrow. Meanwhile, Portugal have little to play for - their hopes of finishing at the top of League A's Group 3 were ended by their defeat to France in their last match.

Cristiano Ronaldo in Split, as seen on the sports pages of Jutarnji List © screenshot Jutarnji List

The Croatian National Football Team have been drawn in one of the most difficult groups within this year's UEFA Nations League. Portugal are the defending champions of the league and France are the current World Cup holders. Croatia have lost four of their last five matches in the competition, their only win so far being against Sweden. Sweden are currently at the bottom of Group 3 with only three points, the same as Croatia. Croatia are placed third, above Sweden, having scored more goals. The final standing of the teams will also depend on the result of the Sweden France game which will be played simultaneously.

To get the most up-to-date news about tomorrow's game and the Croatian National Football Team, plus all international Croatia sports and domestic leagues, be sure to follow Total Croatia News dedicated Sports pages

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August 16, 2020 - The world's most-famous contemporary Sevdalinka outfit, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, hold their first concert of the year in Croatia, as part of the 66th Split Summer Festival

The emotion-wracked melodies of the traditional Sevdalinka (or Sevdah) folk music have rung out across Bosnia for over 500 years. But, for the most famous contemporary band playing this style, the music fell silent on New Year's Eve.

That was the final performance by Mostar Sevdah Reunion, whose return to the live circuit has been halted by COVID-19. But, tonight (Sunday 16 August), at 9pm, they return to the stage.

The band will play a concert at 9pm in Sustipan in Split, the peninsula which lies south-west of the harbour, as part of the 66th Split Summer Festival. There, the emotionally-charged sounds of sevdah, sometimes described as the blues or soul music of the Balkans, will once again be set free.

The Balkan region has the richest and most unique range of folk musics in the whole of Europe; nowhere other than here can you hear styles, scales and rhythms from the near and far east infiltrate into European folk music styles. This melting pot of styles grants the region an exciting and diverse range of authentic folk musics, years ahead, in terms of progression and ambition, to other European styles (indeed, there's a reasonable argument to be made that jazz music emanates from Bulgaria and not America). Sevdah is arguably the most emotive of all the traditional folk musics from the area which encompasses the former Yugoslavia. It has fans across the whole region.


Mostar Sevdah Reunion

Emerging with their debut album in 1999, Mostar Sevdah Reunion have done more than any other contemporary band to place sevdah music on the world stage. They have recorded with true giants of sevdah and Roma music, such as Esma Redzepova, Šaban Bajramović and Ljiljana Buttler. In concert, they have appeared at Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Barbican Center in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Kremlin State Theater in Moscow, the Art Palace in Budapest, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Nice Jazz Festival and WOMAD Festival. Mostar Sevdah Reunion have had several documentaries made about them.

The word sevdah comes from the Turkish word sevda which, in turn, derives from the Arabic sawda, a word often associated with a pining heart or unrequited love. Alongside the sevdah music they take their name and inspiration from, over the band's 25+ year career Mostar Sevdah Reunion have become famous for mixing jazz and even Latin styles into their music. In recent years have opened their repertoire to include a classic catalogue of Romani songs.

June 29, 2020 - Part 7 of Ivica Profaca's Diary of a Split Tour Guide in the Age of Corona - you can start at the beginning here.

As a dedicated filmgoer, I just couldn't help it but think about a quote from Godfather (later also used in The Sopranos), which nicely describes feelings about the Coronavirus revival. You probably heard it before, it's famous Michael Corleone's "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" And it's really like that.

It's been more than a month since my last diary entry on Total Croatia News. Since May things looked maybe not good, but better. At one point, at least with the epidemiological situation in Croatia, one could have thought something like "So, this is how it will look when pandemic fades out." However, with borders opening, and an almost complete return of almost normal life, it was obvious that it might hit back. And it did. In only a few days, with a boost from the Adria Tour tennis tournament, the opening of night clubs, a few church events and imported cases from other countries (mostly those in the region), Croatia climbed up from zero to 95. If you regularly follow Total Croatia News COVID news, you probably know everything about. If you don't, follow it.

The new rise of COVID cases in Croatia (I believe this is not the second wave) created a big question mark above my head, and many other heads. Two days ago Croatia had the second biggest number of new daily cases ever (95, compared to 96 in April), and it brought a lot of questions. If we were completely locked down with 96, and I do believe it was a good decision, how come that with 95 cases we have all stores open, tourists coming in, night clubs working, beaches opened with barely respected restrictions, people sitting in bars and restaurants, masses, weddings, funerals, public transportation, etc. Whatever you can think of that was closed or banned less than two months ago, now is open, with only a few exceptions.  Experts are racing with explanations, so anyone can try to follow, but in case you were obeying what Civil Protection HQ was saying before, and have a basic fear of risky population being infected, what to do now? Well, maybe it will be more clear after the elections scheduled for July 5. I don't think every single thing or move depends on that, but some decisions definitely do.

To make things even more confusing, at least for me, is that I'm not sure if borders had to be open so soon, and so wide. Now there are restrictions for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Northern Macedonia, all passengers need to stay in 14-days self-isolation. On the other hand, it's easy to travel from some of the most affected European countries, like Sweden or United Kingdom. Actually, the only obstacle is the lack of flights. Some of the lines will be re-opened in July, and then it will be even easier. Did you see images from English beaches a few days ago? Well, are we sure we want to accommodate them in the name of reviving tourism? In spite of the fact that I will lose some jobs, I'm closer to a negative answer, because if we rush, the finale might be postponed. Some will say "You are panicking, change of reaction on a new case is proof that Coronavirus is just a big scam". Call me whatever name you like, but I really don't think such claims deserve a reply.

This growth of new cases number brought also some problematic interpretations, not in Croatia but abroad. For example, The New York Times published a colored map, with Croatia being the only European Union country painted in red, which always means alert. They used a very strange methodology; calculated in percentages increase of seven-days average of new cases in previous two weeks. Thus, Croatia looks like a disaster, because the average number rose from 0.7 to 46 in the period observed. Theoretically, some country could have had an increase from 1000 to 10,000, and it would still be below Croatia.

By coincidence, a new outbreak arrived at the same time with the first new booking in my calendar in months. I think the last one I received was sometime early February. A group of four wants tours in Split and Trogir, and a full-day trip to Hvar, in late August. Looking at that e-mail was like meeting an old friend.

Will it really happen? I have no idea, just as it's completely uncertain what will happen with the last bookings still alive in 2020, all of them in September and October. Besides those two new dates, there are only seven that survived. Last season it was my weekly average. Knowing that most of them are from other continents, it's hard to believe in having those jobs done. Even harder with the recent announcement that the EU might ban US, Brazilian and Russian travelers when it reopens its borders on July 1. I promised Paul Bradbury that I will write a story about the first post-COVID tour, but even if you like what I write here you will have to wait for some more time, unless something suddenly changes. I can only regret not being good enough as a student to learn German, because some dear friends among the guides had this year's premiere with some of those few tourists, mostly from Germany and Austria, who arrived in Split.

Catching up with bookings became very dynamic. When I started writing this piece, I had a total of ten dates booked, including two that just arrived. Then, halfway through, I checked the news in the cruise industry, and found out that the last ship I had booked was cancelled. So, don't blink too long, who knows what can happen.

We will be following Ivica Profaca's journey through the rocky weeks ahead.

If you find yourself in Split, or are planning a post-corona visit, check out his range of tours on his website - families, look out for the kids tour of Diocletian Palace. It will not only entertain your kids while allowing you to absorb this unique UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it will bring out the inner child in you too. Learn more about it here. 

You can read other parts of Ivica's Split Tour Guide in the Age of Corona series here.

(To be continued)