Ultra Europe is set to take place in Split from July 12 to 14, 2019, however, Hajduk and Ultra are still without an agreement, and allegedly, a contract has yet to be signed, according to Slobodna Dalmacija on June 3, 2019. 

The Split football club and the leadership of one of Europe's largest music spectacles have apparently not found common ground in the latest round of negotiations, and Hajduk-Ultra talks so far have not been fruitful.

Namely, Hajduk is justifiably afraid of the aftermath of the music festival and how it has devastated the Poljud football pitch over the years. Hajduk does have reason to worry, because Ultra conflicts with the beginning of the season when European games are played and the Croatian First League begins. 

Thus, the club is looking for a guarantee that this will not happen again, and that above all, Hajduk has a functioning pitch on time and one that is suitable to host European clubs.

And, after years of experience, putting in a new pitch is the only guarantee that it will be at an adequate level after the festival.

Unfortunately, both sides are not on the same wavelength - and it's already too late to discuss changing the pitch now. Namely, if the other party agrees to replace the pitch, all the deadlines have already been exhausted. Recall, there are only 40 days left until the beginning of Ultra, and a lot that goes into implementing a new lawn, i.e., grass needs to be ordered, delivered, etc. 

Considering Hajduk’s first round of Europa League will be played from July 11 to 18, 2019, the club could potentially move the game to Dugopolje, which is some 30 minutes away from Split. The downside, however, is that the stadium holds considerably fewer fans, which would result in fewer tickets sales and, well, a loss of the atmosphere in general.

So, what will happen next? Stay tuned. 

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

Splitski Dnevnik writes on May 28, 2019, that we are just a few days away from the new traffic regulations in the center of Split. Allegedly, this will lead traffic outside the center of the city, which is becoming increasingly more congested year after year - and is, precisely, the consequence of transitioning from a port city to a booming tourist destination. 

And indeed, in recent years, cars have moved at the speed of snails down Ul. Kralj Zvonimira, making it much quicker to travel on foot in the hot summer season. The City of Split even announced that the regulations in the city center would also ease the life of tenants in the center. It's true, something needed to be done, though how it will go remains to be seen. 

Another, rather exciting part of the new traffic regulation comes June 9. While one-way traffic will already be introduced at the Split Ferry Port, the Main Railway Station in Kopilica will begin operating. Thus, tour bus passengers will be unloaded and loaded at the new Kopilica station and can travel for 11 kuna via public city transport from the Municipal Rail Station in Kopilica to the Split Ferry Port. Kopilica will boast a parking lot for 48 tour buses, and the daily parking fee for buses will cost 120 kuna (the same parking fee as Dračevac).

However, if tour buses did want to load and unload their passengers at the terminals at the Tourist Palace in the city center, they are limited to 15 minutes and will walk out with empty pockets. Namely, the buses who wish to bring their tourists to the Riva will have to pay 800 kuna (400 for unloading passengers, 400 for loading). Until now, they've paid 50 kuna.

"The organization of the Main Railway Station in Kopilica and the introduction of the city rail service in the service of public transport is expected to reduce the pressure of vehicles, especially tourist buses at the center of the city. Passengers can get to the center in just four minutes with the new metro and by using a unique ticket that is valid for the train and bus, issued by the hour. City trains on the route from Kopilica - Ferry Port and vice versa will travel every 20 minutes,” reads the correspondence sent to the travel agencies, which is signed by Deputy Mayor Nino Vela.

The announcement added that these measures are being introduced so that the “arrival of tourists in the destination is as pleasant as possible, and so that they do not waste time standing in queues, but also to make sure that the local population feels less pressure of tourist flows."

Thus, passengers are being shifted from the bus to the city train, as a way to make the temporary station project survive. Recall, 800 kuna is no small amount, and it is only logical to think that most carriers would decide against paying the fee to enter the center to unload their passengers. In Kopilica, every passenger is paying only 11 kuna to get to the city center. We just hope that it will truly only take four minutes to get there.

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

In the blink of an eye and we are already right around the corner from June 1, the date when the temporary traffic regulation through the Split City Port begins, which will try to solve the problem of crowds on Kralja Zvonimira street and Zagrebačka street during the tourist season, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on May 21, 2019. 

The new one-way traffic along the Split City Port,  and further through Jadranksa street, Bijankinijeva street, and Pojišanska street, which all drivers but also many pedestrians can expect in less than 10 days, will also be reflected on the routes of public bus lines.

How this should look, in practice, was explained by Miroslav Delić, director of “Promet”. 

“According to the new organization, it is agreed that all bus lines that come to Zvonimirova street to the city turn right to Zagrebačka street (near the old "Slobodna" office) and then proceed to the usual route.

However, it is a key change on the routes that return from the city center, because after the start of the new traffic regulation, the buses from Zagrebačka street will turn right to the port, or to the new, bigger junction to be made at the current roundabout at the central bus station.

The buses will continue driving through the bridge at Bačvice to Bijankinijeva and Pojišanska streets, and further to the usual routes and destinations.

There are some 28 city and suburban lines in Split, and this way we can have 509 buses pass per day, instead of the current 160,” said the first man of public transport in Split.

Thus, apart from the bus lines 9, 10 and 15, the Promet lines 2, 3, 5, 5a, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 60 and 68 will pass by the port. 

As for lines 9, 10 and 15, after they cross Bijankinijeva, they will turn left at Pojišanska, at the second Police Station building, which will be enabled from the beginning of June and will connect with Zvonimirova and continue to Zagrebačka by Domovinskog rata street.

Due to the changed routes in public transport, apart from the station at the port, there will be another at Bijankinijeva street, at the Feniks store, at the site of the current street parking lot.

Last year, the biggest problem was traffic on Zagrebačka street, which caused the buses to be delayed more than an hour, disturbing the overall timetable.

“If everything goes according to plan, there will certainly be a better flow of traffic, which means that we can move between 40,000 and 45,000 passengers in the port,” said Delić and added that the Promet timetable should remain the same. 

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Moment Fest is a cultural, musical, sports and recreational event that will take place once a month at the Turkish Tower in Split, from May to October. The first release was announced for Sunday, May 26 at 3 pm, reports Dalmacija Danas on May 21, 2019. 

In addition to the Xstatic (graffiti) team who will design the tables, in cooperation with Kam Hram (Cultural Alternative Youth), the even boasts an ‘Open stage’ - an open-air evening of performances for kids and adults where creatives will present their skills and knowledge in various performing arts with an emphasis on contemporary circus.

The magic of this festival will be enhanced by the incredible Guy Pardillos, 'The Mystifier', who will surprise, shock and confuse the audience between the two open stages. This magician, hypnotizer, illusionist, mentalist and entertainer has been on Croatia’s radar since Supertalent in 2017 - and this will be an excellent opportunity to spice up your lives with a touch of magic. 

For the music part of the program, the team of Radio Kampus will bring out the fierce underground sounds of DJ Miro, the alpha and omega of the association Underground Control and one of Judino Drvo’s team leaders, whose name is behind the Barbarinac Island of Love and Ego Free Festival.

“The other festivals are held on June 9th, July 28th and August 25th. We have prepared a lot more for our visitors, and we do not want to give away too much information, so this will stay a surprise for now,” said organizer Tonći Visković, a member of the Momentum association, who you might already know through the project “We Kill Boredom" (Ubijmo dosadu). 

Bring your blankets, hammocks and all other amenities for a picnic out in the sun - the entrance to the festival is entirely free!

Momentum is a non-profit and volunteer youth association founded in Split in 1995 with the aim of more actively involving young people in the cultural life of the city and enriching the social offer of Split. Over the past few years, over 150 workshops of music, educational and sports-recreational types, stand-up comedy, film screenings, and all-day outdoor events have been organized through the project 'We Kill Boredom' resulting in many young Split citizens bringing their talents, wishes, and ideas to a wider audience.

If you're interested in taking the stage, all performers, actors, dancers, circus acts, poets, musicians, comedians, random passersby, and all people of good are invited to submit their performances (up to 10 minutes) and a description of the item to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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

The 8th edition of the Shift Conference - Powered by ICT County - will make Split the center of the IT industry for two days, May 30 and 31, 2019. In a single place, the conference brings together leading world experts from renowned companies such as Google, eBay, Shopify, Amazon, Xbox, Minecraft, Slack, and many more.

It is expected that the largest IT conference in Southeast Europe this year will welcome as many as 1,500 participants, reports Splitski Dnevnik on May 20, 2019. 

The Shift Conference - Powered by ICT County, has gathered IT specialists and innovators from various parts of the world for the past few years, providing them with an excellent platform for discussing new development technologies, techniques and trends, and quality networking. The organizer of the Shift conference, Ivan Burazin, discovered that “several of the speakers who attended the conference later helped Croatian companies to break through and succeed in foreign markets, at least to reach the next step in their business."

Participants will have the opportunity to listen to 25 top-class lecturers and participate in 6 interesting workshops. One of the most outstanding lecturers is Boyd Multerer, who is known as the creator of the Xbox One console software, and the founder of the enormous online Xbox Live community that brings together millions of players around the world with billions of dollars in profit a year.

This year's conference will also host two Google representatives, Mugdha Lakani and Mete Atamel, who are the leading developers to help users having problems with the Google Cloud. Also, a prominent guest is Yolanda Robla, who comes from the cutting-edge technology and programming company, Red Hat, where she works as a software engineer and has 15 years of experience. Red Hat is a company that has been in the IT public eye thanks to the fact that IBM acquired it last year for an incredible $34 billion.

The great interest of visitors will certainly target Tiffany Tse, who works as a Developer Advocacy Lead for the Canadian king of e-commerce - Shopify. Tiffany specializes in front end and design oriented to user experience and accessibility. Her lecture will give participants insight into the work and manner that e-commerce functions and will reveal the various challenges that developers encounter daily. E-commerce, from a different perspective, will also feature Front End Engineer of the well-known eBay, Willian Martins, who will challenge and motivate participants in experimenting and using various tricks in the development of business.

From the spontaneous idea of organizing the first Shift to date, the conference has grown into an unexpectedly large but vitally needed IT project in Croatia. The continued growth of the conference and the presence of representatives of some of the world's largest companies are just one of the invaluable indicators that the conference brings to all participants. 

"From year to year, we try to be innovative and original. In addition to being an ideal opportunity to reach young talents and delivering solutions to targeted business partners, the established contacts at Shift open a lot of doors and networking stimulates the great interest of visitors,” concluded Ivan Burazin, the Shift organizer.

This year, on May 30 and 31, the Radisson Blu hotel in Split will become the IT center of Southeast Europe. In addition to quality lecturers, interesting lectures, and excellent networking opportunities, there will also be an entertainment program. 

You can find the full program at www.shiftconf.co.

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

The fact that we are edging closer to the heart of the tourist season is evident by the number of cruise ships entering Split’s city port. Namely, on Sunday, two cruise ships sailed into Split, both under the Panamanian flag, and both under the cap of MSC Krstarenja. Their Musica and Sinfonia cruisers brought thousands of guests to the city over the weekend, albeit only on a one-day excursion, as they sailed off at 6 pm, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on May 19, 2019. 

The Musica ship can accommodate 2,550 guests, while the Sinfonia carries one hundred more. Apart from the Port Authority of Split, who surely get their share of the profits, Split caterers and sellers of ice cream and souvenirs earned little from the cruise ship guests, though buyers of magnets seemed to make the biggest buzz.

"These are not the guests who spend a lot, they have everything on the ship, and in the city they only create crowds,” commented one Split resident. 

Split will, however, have to get used to these guests. On Sunday, the city welcomed only the 60th cruise ship this year, and by the end of the year, there will be more than 224 arrivals. 

Namely, the Port Authority of Split has announced the arrival of 284 cruise ships on excursions to Split this year alone - and this is still not the final number. Recall, Split welcomed 260 cruise ships last year, and by 2020, some 305 arrivals have been announced.

No stranger to cruise ships, Dubrovnik implemented a new measure that will introduce a daily tax for guests of cruise ship passengers in the amount of one euro per person in 2021, from which the city will be able to turn about 950 thousand euros into cash in just one year. The move will limit the number of cruise ships in Dubrovnik to two daily, so that no more than 5,000 visitors will arrive in the city in any one day. This is the result of intense negotiations between the City of Dubrovnik and the largest cruise companies in the CLIA association, which took place to attempt to solve the problem of up to seven cruisers a day entering Dubrovnik, which would bring up to 10,000 passengers into the city per day.

Should Split look into doing something similar? 

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

Have you noticed a film set coming to life at the Golden Gate entrance to Diocletian's Palace in Split? Here's why.

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, will visit Split on May 16 and 17, 2019, reports Dalmatinski Portal on May 9, 2019. 

Prince Edward’s host will be Split mayor Andro Krstulović Opara, with whom he will visit Diocletian's Palace. The Palace symbolizes both the early and close link between Britain and Croatia - in the 18th century, Scottish architect Robert Adam was so thrilled by its architecture, he used it as inspiration for building designs in Britain.

On the British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Duncan, which will be docked at the Split port, the Royal Highness will be joined by representatives of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Armed Forces to mark close cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Croatia in the areas of defense and security - both bilaterally and within NATO - as well as the 10th anniversary of Croatia's membership in NATO.

Prince Edward will visit the First Gymnasium, which has been working with Aston College in Dover for 25 years. He will also open the British company ICE Marine Design, which specializes in ship design and has plans to employ 60 people in Croatia over the next two years, and will even meet with Professor Miroslav Radman, whose scientific research with the University of Cambridge, UK, will help us live healthier and longer.

“Members of the Royal Family are considered to be 'ambassadors' of the United Kingdom and the Queen. Their visits show the respect and attention of the UK towards the country they are visiting. The visit of Prince Edward emphasizes the permanent friendship and partnership of Great Britain and Croatia. Our two countries are already connected on so many levels, through history and today, in culture and science, defense and security, values and business. Nothing is more natural than building on this great base in the future,” said British ambassador to Croatia, Andrew Dalgleish.

This visit to Split will be the first official visit of Prince Edward to Croatia. His brother, Prince of Wales, was in Croatia several times, and his sister, Princess Anna, visited Croatia in 2009. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Croatia in 1972.

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

April 30, 2019 - The City of Split announced that from the beginning of June, namely June 1, 2019, new traffic regulations would be in force through the City Port, developed by experts from Trivium in cooperation with the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy in Split, said Deputy Mayor Nino Vela at a press conference held on Tuesday. Vela also said that the City of Split, together with the Croatian Roads and the Port Authority, with the support of the Police Administration of Split-Dalmatia, Split-Dalmatia County and the city companies Promet, Čistoća and Split Parking, took part in solving the current, unsatisfactory traffic situation in Split. The group aimed for better vehicle flow, starting from the City Port which is a traffic epicenter of the city.

“The analyzes carried out have offered a new regulation that has the ambition to become a permanent solution,” Deputy Vela said.

Miroslav Jakovčević of Trivium spoke about the interventions that will commence immediately after the Sv. Duje holiday, to be completed by the end of May and which cost about half a million kuna. The biggest announcement is an entirely one-way Zvonimirova Street, completely one-way traffic through the City Harbor, with no turn to Zagrebačka Street from the direction of the Port. 

Thus, Zvonimirova street, just like last year, will be one-way, and four lanes will continue toward the city harbor. However, exiting the port will take place in only one direction, via the Bačvice bridge. The lanes at the bus station will turn in the opposite direction, considering all buses will travel to Jadranska Street.

Traffic analyzes have shown substantial capacities of this new solution and no crowds and stops approaching the City Port are expected. There will still be a problem of departing from the City Port, at peak hours (13.30 to 14.00) every day. This will be regulated in the future by adapting the timetables of Jadrolinija.

Traffic experts have concluded that, in addition to an increased number of cars, the problem is pedestrians, and they will also benefit from the new regulations. This temporary solution could also become permanent.

Check out the new flow of traffic below.

Find the full details of the project here. 

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