Croatia finally lets us hear Dora 2026 — all 24 songs drop on 8 January
At last, a date. A real one.
Croatia has confirmed that all 24 songs competing at Dora 2026 will be released on 8 January. Not snippets. Not “coming soon”. The actual songs. All of them. At the same time.
They’ll be played on Croatian radio and uploaded to Dora’s YouTube channel, which means one thing: this is when Dora 2026 actually starts. Everything before that was just noise.
No teasing, no favourites, just press play
According to HRT’s Ivan Štengl, the broadcaster is happy with the selection. Not because it follows a trend. Quite the opposite.
There’s no dominant style this year. No single sound taking over. And that’s exactly why dropping all the songs on one day makes sense. You listen. You decide. No narrative being pushed at you beforehand.
Štengl even admits it openly: some songs are stronger, some are weaker. That’s normal. But everyone is likely to find at least one song that works for them.
That kind of honesty is rare. And refreshing.
Why 8 January matters
Until that date, Dora 2026 is just a list of names. On 8 January, it becomes real.
That’s when opinions will form. That’s when favourites will appear. And that’s when the arguments will start. As they should.
Releasing everything at once puts all 24 artists on the same starting line. No early hype. No “this one sounds like a winner” before anyone has heard a note.
Just songs. And ears.
A wide-open race, by design
Štengl goes even further and says something you don’t hear often: every artist who made it into the semi-finals has a chance. All 24.
That might sound optimistic, but it fits with how this year’s release is being handled. Dora 2026 doesn’t seem interested in pointing at a winner in advance. It wants the songs to do the work.
And that work starts on 8 January.
Croatia hits play
No countdown gimmicks. No mystery boxes.
Just a date, a playlist and a lot of opinions waiting to happen.
On 8 January, Croatia opens Dora 2026 properly.
And from that moment on, there’s no hiding behind speculation anymore.
Now we listen.
Source: HRT
