Croatia's national broadcaster, HRT, will launch a new format for it's annual Dora competition to select the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest entry for the country. The rules have been published today, with two avenues for songs to be submitted.

HRT published today rules for the Dora 2008 competition. HRT will try next year a new format! There will be two ways for getting the songs:

1. Open competition
2. Invited composers

In the open competition, composers can submit entries until 18th December. 14 will be selected and presented in six weekly shows called Usuret Dori (towards Dora). All ten songs submitted by invitation will qualify for the final on 23rd February. The invitations will be presented to ten of the twenty most successful songwriters according to the Croatian Association of Composers for airplay in 2006. Invitations will first be submitted to the top ten. If any decline, invitations will be made to those between 11-20 in the list.

USURET DORI & DORA

The grand final of Dora 2008 will be held in Opatija 23rd February. Before that, there will be 6 shows Ususret Dori where HRT will present songs from the open search for the songs. In the shows, viewers will vote for their favourites and choose 6 songs that we will see in the final of Dora 2008.

In the 1st show will the 10 songs from the invited composers will be heard for the first time. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th shows will present the 14 songs from the open search. From eeach show, viewers will choose 2 songs for the final. Finally, in 5th and 6th Ususret Dori shows, HRT will present all 16 songs from the final (8 in one, and 8 in second show). These 16 songs will compete in final.

The winner of Dora 2008. will be decided by the mix of televoting and the jury (50%-50%).

You can read the full rules here http://www.hrt.hr/dora/dora2008/DORA_2008_Opca_pravila.doc