Among the candidates for Eurovision 2023, the Croatian delegation chose the surprise with a strong, political and somewhat improbable performance.
Eurovision wouldn’t be Eurovision without its kitsch, colorful, surprising and even totally saucy performances. Each year, some candidates sent to represent their country compete in imagination to try to stand out on stage and in the minds, even if it means forgetting, sometimes, the musical performance. And this 2023 edition, hosted in Liverpool, England, is obviously no exception to the rule. Among the 37 standard bearers in the running for the grand final of the European singing competition, which is being held this Saturday, May 13, 2023, the Croatian delegation is sparking and is likely to cause a lot of talk.
This year, the Balkan country has decided to send to Eurovision the punk group Let 3, founded in Rijeka (west of Croatia) in the 1980s. Known for their satirical and critical songs, the five representatives of Croatia defend the colors of their country with the song Mama ŠČ!. An anti-militarist title that makes fun of dictators, described in the words as “psychopaths”, targeting in particular Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko.
“We are in Liverpool to say that we are opposed to all discrimination, whether it concerns origins, sexual orientation, religions…”, confides in the columns of 20 minutes Let 3’s leader Prlja, who adds, about their stage outfits: “Too much is never enough. No matter how crazy things you can do, they will always fall short of crazy of the world we live in.”
It is therefore dressed in Stalin-style military costumes, with large mustaches and excessive make-up that the five members of Let 3 at Eurovision will appear on stage… Until they end up, for some, in white kangaroo underwear. There is no doubt that this performance will remain in the annals of this vintage 2023 of Eurovision …