ZAGREB, December 23, 2019 - Ministers from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) quota in the government on Monday expressed confidence that incumbent President and HDZ presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović would win the second round of the presidential vote set for January 5.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said he expected Grabar-Kitarović to win in the runoff, and in a comment on the first round of the vote, he said that vote dispersion had occurred between two right-wing camps.

"In the first round the fact that there were two candidates on the right side of the political spectrum has caused a dispersion of votes and we all expect Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to win in the second round," Marić said ahead of a session of the inner cabinet.

Culture Minister Nina Obuljen-Koržinek said that she was not surprised by the outcome of the first round, estimating that Grabar-Kitarović would secure great support in the second round.

"There was another strong candidate who aimed for that part of the political spectrum but I believe that voters will think about the results of the two candidates (competing in the runoff) carefully and there will be no dilemmas then," said Obuljen-Koržinek.

Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said that HDZ members were not disappointed, but that nonetheless they had not expected the incumbent president to come in third in Zagreb. When asked what this said about the situation in the HDZ, he said that one should close ranks and support the HDZ candidate.

Health Minister Milan Kujundžić said that the outcome of the first round was as expected and that the second round was an entirely new game.

Asked if Grabar-Kitarović's result was a result of dissatisfaction in the HDZ, he said that presidential elections should be viewed separately from the situation in the HDZ, and particularly from parliamentary elections, where, he said, the HDZ was certain to win.

Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said he expected Miroslav Škoro's voters to support the HDZ candidate in the second round.

"We are counting on all votes," he told reporters and, as for possible cooperation with Škoro in parliamentary elections, he said that anything was possible.

"Any cooperation to the benefit of Croatian citizens is good and that is what the President said in her speech - Croatia above anything else, unity and the interests of Croatia and Croatian citizens," Grlić Radman said.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that the goal of making it into the second round had been achieved and that the game was about to begin anew.

Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said that he was not worried about fewer votes in Zagreb and big cities because "big cities were never the HDZ's strongholds."

Transport Minister Oleg Butković said that he believed the counties where Škoro had won in the first round would vote for Grabar-Kitarović in the runoff.

More news about presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 23, 2019 - The German ZDF national broadcaster will air a one-hour show - "Horst Lichter Looking for Happiness - Through Croatia on a Motorbike", in prime time on Christmas Day and an estimated three million viewers are expected to watch the show, Croatia's National Tourism Board (HTZ) reported on Monday.

The show is hosted by renowned German cook and TV host Horst Lichter who travelled together with German actor Henning Baum along the Croatian coast in search of happiness.

"Adventure shows involving popular individuals uncovering tourist destinations are an effective promotional tool because viewers watch real experiences by their idols whom they trust. I am certain that this show will result with some brilliant reactions on the German market which is exceptionally important for us and so far this year almost three million arrivals have been generated from that market, which compared to the same period last year, is an increase of four percent," HTZ director Kristjan Staničić underscored.

Lichter and Baum visited the entire Croatian coast from Istria across Zadar and Split to Dubrovnik. Their entire trip was motivated by the desire to search for their own personal happiness.

"Because of Lichter's popularity and the fact that the show will be aired in prime time, it is expected that several million people will see the show and that certainly add some wind in our sails for a positive image about Croatia on the German market," the director of HTZ's office in Germany, Romeo Draghicchio said.

HTZ added that after the premier airing of the show it will later be available on other on-line TV channels.

Horst Lichter is a popular chef who experienced two cardiac arrests in his late twenties and then decided to change his life and became a TV host. The show in Croatia was filmed in June and Licther is particularly fond of Croatia also because his wife is Croatian, HTZ said.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, December 23, 2019 - Councillors of the DSHV party representing the Croat community in Serbia on Monday walked out of a Subotica Council meeting in protest against obstruction of the formation of a Croat school centre in the northern city.

DSHV president Tomislav Žigmanov said after the DSHV representatives left the meeting that although a year ago this party had proposed amending the decision on Subotica's network of pre-school institutions and elementary schools as a precondition for the registration of the Croat school centre, this item had not yet been added to the council's agenda.

"This is a more than obvious act of discrimination when it comes to initiatives by the Croat community," said Žigmanov.

The DSHV criticised the local Serb Progressive Party (SNS) and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians for discrimination against the ethnic Croats in the city.

The Croatian school centre is the largest project of the Croat community in the education field since the introduction of lessons in the Croatian language in 2002.

There has been no official explanation from the city authorities of the reasons for the delay.

Žigmanov said that the project had been discussed with Serbia's top officials and that it was also one of the recommendations made by the Serbia-Croatia intergovernmental committee on minorities.

More news about the status of Croats in Serbia can be found in the Diaspora section.

December 23, 2019 - Igor Tudor is the new coach of Hajduk Split!

After almost five years, Igor Tudor will again take over the Hajduk bench in early January. The club confirmed that the 40-year-old Split football expert would lead the team through their 2020 winter preparations. The first official match of the newly appointed Hajduk strategist after 2015 will be in February against Varazdin.

Tudor first sat on the Hajduk bench back in 2013 as a celebrated Hajduk player and Croatia national team member. Shortly after taking over Hajduk, Tudor won the Croatian Football Cup, in which Hajduk topped Lokomotiva.

Tudor’s first term as Hajduk coach was from April 2013 until February 2015, and over the three seasons, he led Hajduk in a total of 77 official games, affirming several young players. In the meantime, he has led the Greek club PAOK, the Turkish clubs Karabukspor and Galatasaray, and has twice been coach of the Italian club Udinese.

Tudor served as Eduard Reja's professional staff in the 2009/10 season and worked at the Hajduk Academy as a cadet trainer before his first term on the Hajduk bench.

Igor Tudor made his debut for Hajduk as a player on October 11, 1995, in a Cup match against Marsonia. In total, he recorded 127 appearances in the Hajduk jersey, with 11 goals scored. He left Hajduk in 1998 for Juventus, Italy, where he achieved some of the most significant successes in his rich player career, which he completed in the summer of 2008, where he began, in his favorite Hajduk jersey. He won the bronze medal at the 1998 World Cup in France with Croatia. 

We will have more info on the signing soon.

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

December 23, 2019 - How did this year compare to Croatia’s most successful year in sport? A look at Croatian sport in 2019. 

It seemed as though nothing could quite compare to 2018. It was the year Croatian football became World Cup finalists. The year Croatia brought home the Davis Cup trophy and thus gained sweet revenge on France. A year so successful, we’d never seen anything like it in Croatian history. 

As 2019 began, I was hardly optimistic.

“How could we be so lucky again?”

Fortunately, the year was full of pleasant surprises. It was a year that saw our young talents thrive. A year that saw countless triumphs in both individual and team sports. It was another epic year in Croatian sport.

Here is our  2019 year in review. 

Croatia Handball: 2019 began with the Men’s Handball World Championship, which featured Croatia in Group B. After four impressive wins against Iceland, Japan, Macedonia, and Bahrain, Croatia met Spain to decide the winner of the group. After topping Spain 23:19, Croatia went on to win Group B and continued to the main round of the tournament. Croatia was not so lucky there, losing to Brazil 29:26 and Germany 21:22, which ultimately took them out of the fight for the medal. A win against France for the final game of the main round restored their morale, though a loss to Sweden, in the end, saw Croatia finish the tournament as the 6th best team in the world. Croatia will play in the European Championships next month against Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia in Graz. 

Franko Grgic: Promising Croatian swimmer, 16-year-old Franko Grgic, won two gold swimming medals in the 800-meter and 1500-meter races at this year's World Junior Championships, and was even selected among the five finalists for the Piotr Nurowski Award, which as awarded by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) for the ninth time. Though he didn’t win the award in the end, he made sure he was on everyone’s swimming radar. The PK Jadran Split swimmer had an outstanding August, celebrating two gold medals and achieving new records at the 7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest. After winning the gold in the 800-meter-freestyle while breaking a Croatian record, the 16-year-old swimming sensation became the world champion in the 1500-meter-freestyle and achieved a new world junior record with a time of 14:46.09 minutes. Grgic swam 10.46 seconds faster in Budapest than his best-ever record in the 1500 meters, which was also Croatia's national record. Franko’s previous career-fastest in the 800-meter free was achieved in Zagreb in March, where he swam 7:53.75. In Budapest, however, Grgic was 8 seconds faster, thus breaking the Croatian record held by Marin Mogic (7:51:78). Grgic was thus named the 25th fastest performer of all-time, any age, in this 800-meter freestyle. At the beginning of the year, Grgic won the gold in the 400-meter and 1500 meter at the EYOF in Baku, and also hit the Olympic standard for Tokyo 2020. We can’t wait to see him in Tokyo next summer.

Croatia Basketball: It wasn’t the greatest year for Croatia basketball, which failed to qualify for the World Cup in China back in August. However, with new coach Veljko Mrsic on the bench, Croatia still has a chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The light at the end of the tunnel to 2019 was the welcoming news that Split would be host to the 2020 Olympic Qualifying tournament next June, where Croatia will face Tunisia and Brazil, and crossover with Germany or Russia. It will be the strongest tournament played on Croatian ground since EuroBasket 1989 in Zagreb. But not all was bleak. In the NBA, Croatia captain Bojan Bogdanovic saw a stellar transfer to the Utah Jazz this summer, where he’s been playing the basketball of his career. Ivica Zubac is still a hit at the LA Clippers and Dario Saric is finding his footing better at the Phoenix Suns. Croatia also boasts a record seven players in the NBA this season. To end on a high, two legendary Croatian basketball players Toni Kukoc and Giuseppe ‘Pino’ Giergia have been listed among the 50 candidates nominated for the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Illinois. 

Dina Levacic: Another year, another swimming success for Dina Levacic! In 7 hours, 13 minutes and 15 seconds, 23-year-old Solin native Dina Levacic completed the Tsugaru Strait to complete the fourth open water channel swim out of the seven in the 'Oceans Seven' challenge. The channel is located between Japan's largest island, Honshu and Hokkaido, and high waves and strong frontal wind accompanied the Croatian swimmer the entire way. The member of the Split Swimming Club set one of her best times and became only the 67th person to complete the Tsugaru Strait.

The ‘Ocean Seven’ is a series of seven international swimming marathons, modeled after the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. Dina Levačić had already swum three marathon channels from the ‘Ocean Seven’ series before attempting the Tsugaru: Catalina Channel, English Channel (La Manche) and Moloka’i Channel. After the Tsugaru Strait in Japan, Dina will still need to overcome the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, the Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa and the Cook Strait in New Zealand.

Croatia Football: On the heels of the greatest sporting success in Croatian history, the Croatia football team did not disappoint this year. Croatia’s Euro 2020 qualifiers kicked off back in March against Azerbaijan, where they won 2:1 at home. A shocking loss to Hungary stirred the pot, though wins against Wales and Slovakia put Croatia back on their feet. Draws to Wales and Azerbaijan complicated Croatia’s road to the Euros only slightly, as big wins against Hungary and Slovakia in the return games sealed the deal. Croatia not only qualified for the Euros next summer, but they finished at the top of their qualifying group. 2019 was also a pivotal year for Croatian football, as it will be remembered as the year the national team returned to Poljud stadium in Split for the first time since 2015. Croatia played to a sold-out stadium and coach Zlatko Dalic called it the best atmosphere they’d experienced. The Euros await Croatia next year, where they will face England, the Czech Republic, and the winner of the Nations League C (Norway/Serbia v Scotland/Israel). 

Dinamo Zagreb: It was another successful year for Dinamo Zagreb, who clinched the Croatian Championship title for the 20th time back in April after defeating Slaven Belupo. Dinamo secured the title six rounds before the end of the season and 23 points ahead of Rijeka in second. While Rijeka went on to win the Croatian Cup, Dinamo went on to have an impressive Champions League campaign. After soaring through the Champions League qualifiers and playoff round, Dinamo advanced to the Group Stage against Manchester City, Atalanta, and Shakhtar Donetsk. Dinamo opened their seventh Champions League appearance against Atalanta at Maksimir stadium with a shocking 4:0 victory. They fell to City both times, drew to Shakhtar twice, and couldn’t do itagainst Atalanta the second time around. The Zagreb club finished last in their group and will not continue their European run in the spring. 

Croatia Water Polo: It was a busy year for the Croatia water polo team, which began with the Europa Cup in Zagreb, where Croatia failed to defend the title after losing to Hungary in the final. From the Europa Cup to the World League Super Final in Serbia, Croatia went on to defeat Kazakhstan, Australia, Japan, and Spain for a spot in the final against Serbia, where they lost by one goal. The summer continued with the World Championships, where Croatia was again better than Australia,  the USA, and Kazakhstan. They defeated Germany in the quarterfinal but lost to Spain in the semis to miss their chance in the final. Croatia did, however, beat Hungary for third place. Croatia will compete in the Euros next month, where they will have to finish at the top to secure their spot in the Tokyo Olympics next summer. Croatia water polo ended the year with yet another impressive recognition as two team members are among the top seven in the world - Maro Jokovic and Josip Vrlic.

Croatia Tennis: Unlike last year, where Croatia took home the Davis Cup title, this year saw a Croatia squad plagued with injuries and a new coach just days before the tournament was to begin. Croatia didn’t make it out of their group this time around after falling to Russia and Spain, but they can be proud of their individual achievements. Osijek native Donna Vekic made it to the Nottingham final where she lost to Caroline Garcia.  She even advanced to the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters, Roland Garros, and the US Open. Petra Martic defeated 19-year-old Czech player Markéta Vondroušová to get her first WTA title at the Istanbul Cup.  Martic also secured the fourth WTA final of her career at the Zhengzhou Open, where she lost to Karolina Pliskova, and also faced Serena Williams in the US Open round of 16. Both Petra and Donna played in the WTA Elite Trophy tournament, which brings together female tennis players ranked 9th to 19th on the WTA ladder. Borna Coric made it to the semifinal of the Dubai Open, Rosmalen, and St. Petersburg, where he ultimately went on to the final. Marin Cilic’s first semifinal in fourteen months wasn’t until the Kremlin Cup back in October. The real star of Croatian tennis this year is Ivan Dodig, who won two ATP doubles titles with Filip Polasek, at the China Open and the Cincinnati Masters. Dodig also won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Latisha Chan and defended their Roland Garros title just weeks before. 

Sandra Perkovic: Sandra Perkovic failed to defend the world championship title in the discus throw this year, which she won two years ago in London, but still secured a medal at the World Championships in Doha. Namely, Perkovic won the bronze medal after throwing 66.72 meters in the first series of the finals, while Cubans Yaime Perez and Denia Caballero were the gold and silver medalists. This was Sandra’s fourth medal at the World Championships. Sandra became the world champion in Moscow in 2013 and London in 2017 and won the silver in Beijing in 2015. In addition to four world championship medals, Perkovic is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time European champion.

Croatia Gymnastics: It was another big year for Tin Srbic, who won the silver medal at the European Championships in Szczecin in the horizontal bar event. The Croatian gymnast went on to win the gold medal with an impressively high score of 14.900 points at the World Cup in Paris, and ended the year with a silver medal at the World Championships in Stuttgart. He was also named the best Croatian male athlete by the Croatian Olympic Committee. 

Croatia’s best female gymnast Ana Đerek won the gold medal at the World Cup competition in Osijek after a brilliant floor performance, and Robert Seligman advanced to the Cottbus World Cup finals in the pommel horse. 

Sinkovic Brothers: The dynamic duo did it again! The year began with a second-place medal in the coxless pairs at the World Cup in Plovdiv, though it only went up from there. Martin and Valent Sinkovic defended their world rowing championship title in the coxless pairs in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, and ended the year as the best rowing team in the world, declared by the FISA World Rowing Organization!

Snjezana Pejcic: Croatia's best female shooter Snjezana Pejcic and her Indian teammate Divyansh Singh Panwar won the mixed team air rifle competition to wrap up the World Cup final in Putian, China. Pejcic has already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will be her fourth appearance at the Olympic Games. 

Croatia Taekwondo: The Croatia national team finished their appearance at the European Senior Championships with three medals - silver medals for Lovro Brecic and Toni Kanaet and a bronze for Matea Jelic. 

Dino Sinovcic: Croatian Paralympian Dino Sinovcic won the 100m backstroke gold medal in the S6 category at the WPS World Paralympic Championships in London. Sinovic won at the Queen Elizabeth Aquatic Center with a time of 1:15.46, ahead of the Chinese swimmer Hong Yang who swam a time of 1:15.47 for the silver, and Argentine Matias De Andrade, who swam a time of 1:16.91 for the bronze. 

Stipe Miocic: The 36-year-old Croatian-American Stipe Miocic defeated 40-year-old American Daniel Cormier by a knockout in the fourth round of the UFC 241 fight held in Anaheim, California. Stipe thus won sweet revenge on Cormier and brought back the UFC Heavyweight Champion title to Ohio after he lost it to Cormier in Las Vegas 13 months before. The fight between Miocic and Cormier lasted more than 19 minutes, in which the title defender had more significant blows (123-98). 

Croatia Karate: The karate gold and silver came to Croatia thanks to the brilliant Kvesic brothers from Karate club Hercegovina-Zagreb. At this year's European Games in Minsk, Ivan Kvesic won the gold medal while his brother Anđelo Kvesic secured the silver. Croatian representatives returned home with eight medals from the European Games in Minsk - two gold, one silver and five bronze.

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

Croatia's upcoming EU presidency benefits those in tourism, particularly Zagreb hotels, as they will host 25,000 EU delegates. The political weight that Croatia holds when it chairs the Council of the European Union in the first half of next year also has a direct financial benefit.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Radmila Kovacevic/VL writes on the 23rd of December, 2019, the benefit's of Croatia's presidency of the EU will be primarily felt among those working in tourism, who will host about 25,000 delegates during the six months of Croatia's presidency. Zagreb hotels, which will be the venues for most of the official events, should see about 35,000 overnight stays realised.

The estimates also speak of 10,000 official lunches and 5,000 such dinners, and it should be noted that, in addition to prime ministers, ministers, diplomats and other EU officials, members of their families should certainly also be expected in one part.

The largest hotel group in Zagreb, Maistra's Westin, Sheraton, Panorama, International, Adriatic and Zagreb hotels with 1,227 accommodation units, say they're confident that they will realise a better occupancy compared to the same period in 2019. They also revealed that greatest interest during the Croatian EU presidency was recorded in the highest category Zagreb hotels, Westin and Sheraton, which are already very well occupied.

"The preparations are going well. The hotels have well-trained teams of experts who have hosted numerous international conferences and summits for years, and our hotels, restaurants and conference halls are ready for all of the upcoming events. We'll prepare a special menu for the EU delegates to showcase the diversity of our offering, and Every region will be represented by a choice of traditional food and drink,'' they say from Maistra.

The president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce's Hotel Association and the director of the Hilton Hotels in Zagreb, Josip Jutt Ferlan, estimates that the EU Council Presidency could bring Zagreb hotels 15 to 20 percent more overnight stays during the six months of Croatia's EU presidency than in the same period in 2019.

"In addition to the main events, there will be a number of smaller events held in the margins, all of which are great for our hotels. Many have already been booked, some rooms will no longer be available, but those six months will not only work for delegates but for other guests who are also coming to us,'' noted Jutt Ferlan.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel page for much more.

If you've ever made the drive down to Split, you'll have noticed a curious old fortress located in the rugged hills overlooking the city. This incredible medieval fortress, or what remains of it, is named after the village in which it is located - Klis. Klis Fortress has been conquered many times during Croatia and the wider region's tumultuous history. Originally constructed by the Illyrians, it took on its final shape during the Ottoman wars, when the marauding Turks had their eye on the area.

Klis Fortress is a very popular tourist destination, with history buffs, those who love the bird's eye view over Split, photographers and everyone in between wanting to see this imposing piece of history standing tall above the popular Dalmatian city.

Owing to its continued development, as well as investments having been made, Klis Fortress has experienced a record number of visits from tourists in 2019. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes on the 23rd of December, 2019, Klis Fortress and the increase of tourists visiting it, fuelled by the fact that it is one of the top locations of the filming of the wildly popular Game of Thrones series is a peculiar phenomenon of Dalmatia.

Although the ancient fortress is a flywheel when it comes to development, with investments and a wise strategy, it managed to obtain visitor numbers that it has every right to boast about.

The number of visitors to Klis Fortress back in 2015 was a mere 12,000, the following year it increased significantly to 32,000, and in 2017, those numbers reached an impressive 47,000.

After last year's 70,000 visitors, the upward trend has continued and more than 100,000 people visited Klis Fortress this year. The year was also marked by the opening of the Interpretation Centre worth 1 million kuna in total, in which visitors are introduced to the historical and cultural heritage of the region through an informative 3D hologram projection.

Thanks to the EU project worth 2.8 million kuna, special lighting has been erected on Klis Fortress, and the reconstruction of two buildings within the fortress and the installation of a summer stage with a pricet tag of 5.5 million kuna are now being prepared.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel page for much more.

Ever since Croatia joined the European Union (EU) back in July 2013, the number of Croats in Ireland, as well as other EU countries, has soared. Croats have used the opportunities of most of Europe's borders being opened to them. Upon joining, Croatia entered the single market and gained access to the majority of the labour markets of individual European Union member states, with the initial exception of a few, the respective barriers of which have now also been dropped for Croatian citizens. 

In addition to Germany, Ireland has also been a favourite for Croats to emigrate to, often quickly gaining employment and settling into a nice lifestyle there, either temporarily with the intention to return home, or permanently, with no intention of ever coming to Croatia again unless the visit is for a family holiday.

With Croatia's presidential elections finally coming to a head, just what did the many Croats in Ireland think of the political situation back home? It's well known that presidential candidate Zoran Milanovic visited Croats in Ireland, apparently ''not to earn their votes'' but to ''see and hear the reasons why they left Croatia in the first place''. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, SDP's Milanovic made the trip to the emerald isle. Kolinda, on the other hand, did not...

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of December, 2019, over in the Republic of Ireland, no Croatian citizen voted for Nedjeljko Babic, nor did any vote Anto Djapic.

Otherwise, when it comes to Croatian citizens abroad, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic leads the way with 52.48 percent of the vote. Miroslav Skoro closes in in second place with 35.66 percent of the vote, and third in line is SDP's Zoran Milanovic with 6.04 percent. When it comes to Croats in Ireland, however, the situation is a little bit different.

In Ireland, now the home of a considerable number of Croats, HDZ's Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic won only three percent of the vote, given the fact that just 100 people Croatian citizens went to the polls Ireland, according to the results of the State Electoral Commission, leading to just three people circling her name on their ballot.

Katarina Peovic also enjoyed a mere three votes from Croats in Ireland, while Dejan Kovac and Dalija Oreskovic received one vote each. As stated, in Ireland, nobody voted for Nedeljko Babic, nor for Ante Djapic.

The biggest winner in Ireland is Miroslav Skoro, holding 23 percent of Ireland's Croatian diaspora vote. This was followed by Mislav Kolakusic with 22 percent, followed by Ivan Pernar, whose name was circled by 20 people. 19 percent of Croats in Ireland who cast their votes voted for Zoran Milanovic, while just 6 percent voted for Dario Jurican.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for much more.