| Eurovision Song Contest 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Croatia | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Dora 2009 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-final: 27 February 2009 Final: 28 February 2009 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea | |||
| Selected song | "Lijepa Tena" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (13th, 33 points) | |||
| Final result | 18th, 45 points | |||
| Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Croatia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Lijepa Tena" written by Tonči Huljić and Vjekoslava Huljić. The song was performed by Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea. The Croatian broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) organised the national final Dora 2009 to select the Croatian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. A total of twenty-four entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. In the semi-final on 27 February 2009, six entries qualified to compete in the final on 28 February 2009 alongside ten pre-qualified songs. In the final, "Lijepa Tena" performed by Igor Cukrov was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a six-member jury panel and a public televote.
Croatia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2009. Performing as the opening entry for the show in position 1, "Lijepa Tena" was announced among the ten qualifying entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 16 May. It was later revealed that Croatia had been selected by back-up juries to qualify after placing thirteenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 33 points. In the final, Croatia performed in position 5 and placed eighteenth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 45 points.