| Year: | 1996 |
| Broadcaster: | Croatian: [[Croatian Radiotelevision|Hrvatska radiotelevizija]]|i=no (HRT) |
| Country: | Croatia |
| Preselection: | Dora 1996 |
| Preselection Date: | 3 March 1996 |
| Entrant: | Maja Blagdan |
| Song: | Croatian: Sveta ljubav|i=no |
| Final Result: | 4th, 98 points |
Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "Croatian: Sveta ljubav|i=no", written by Zrinko Tutić, and performed by Maja Blagdan. The Croatian participating broadcaster, Croatian: [[Croatian Radiotelevision|Hrvatska radiotelevizija]]|i=no (HRT), selected its entry through Dora 1996.
Croatian: [[Croatian Radiotelevision|Hrvatska radiotelevizija]]|i=no (HRT) organised Dora 1996 to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. The national selection, held on 3 March 1996 in Opatija, consisted of a televised final with 20 songs selected from a public call for submissions from songwriters and composers. The winner was chosen by 20 regional juries.[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alen Vitasović | "Marija" | 18 | 13 | |
| 2 | Erwin | "Uvijek ti" | 16 | 14 | |
| 3 | Novi fosili | "Spray" | 76 | 6 | |
| 4 | Leo | "Postojiš samo ti" | 11 | 15 | |
| 5 | Srebrna krila | "Divno je znati da netko te voli" | 52 | 9 | |
| 6 | Juci | "Moja posljednja molitva" | 4 | 19 | |
| 7 | Marinella and Tutti Frutti | "Sjeti se" | 137 | 3 | |
| 8 | Massimo | "Kao more" | 33 | 12 | |
| 9 | Branimir Mihaljević | "Zbog ljubavi" | 39 | 11 | |
| 10 | Giuliano | "Sjaj u očima otkriva te" | 104 | 5 | |
| 11 | Ivana Banfić and Rene Cooler | "Dani ludila" | 1 | 20 | |
| 12 | Renata Kos | "O mama, mama" | 10 | 17 | |
| 13 | Maja Blagdan | "Sveta ljubav" | 214 | 1 | |
| 14 | Divas | "Sexy Cool" | 50 | 10 | |
| 15 | Jelena | "Aha" | 156 | 2 | |
| 16 | Naim Ayra | "Dvije ruže" | 10 | 17 | |
| 17 | Ivan Mikulić | "Budi ona prava" | 55 | 8 | |
| 18 | Zrinka | "Tako sam ranjiva" | 106 | 4 | |
| 19 | Petar Grašo | "Otkada nije mi tu" | 57 | 7 | |
| 20 | Sandra Sagena | "Ne želim biti dama" | 11 | 15 |
| + Detailed Regional Jury Votes | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draw | Song | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Marija" | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | "Uvijek ti" | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | "Spray" | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 76 | ||||
| 4 | "Postojiš" | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | "Divno je znati da netko te voli" | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 52 | ||||||||||
| 6 | "Moja posljednja molitva" | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | "Sjeti se" | 6 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 137 | |
| 8 | "Kao more" | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 33 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | "Zbog ljubavi" | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 39 | |||||||||||||
| 10 | "Sjaj u očima otkriva te" | 7 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 104 | |||
| 11 | "Dani ludila" | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | "O mama, mama" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | "Sveta ljubav" | 12 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 214 | |
| 14 | "Sexy Cool" | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 50 | |||||||||||
| 15 | "Aha" | 10 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 156 | ||
| 16 | "Dvije ruže" | 2 | 8 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | "Budi ona prava" | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 55 | ||||||||
| 18 | "Tako sam ranjiva" | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 106 | |||
| 19 | "Otkada nije mi tu" | 8 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 57 | |||||||||
| 20 | "Ne želim biti dama" | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
In 1996, for the only time in Eurovision history, an audio-only qualifying round of the 29 songs entered (excluding hosts Norway who were exempt) was held in March in order for the seven lowest-scoring songs to be eliminated before the final. "Sveta ljubav" received 30 points, placing 19th and thus qualifying for the final.[2]
On the night of the contest Maja Blagdan performed 7th, following and preceding the . The song received 98 points at the close of the voting, placing 4th of 23 countries competing.[3] [4] Until 2024, this was Croatia's joint-best placing at the contest, shared with the Croatian 1999 entry, "Marija Magdalena" by Doris Dragović.