The Croatian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, Baby Lasagna, who won second place in last night's final in the Swedish city of Malmö, arrived at Zagreb Airport on Sunday, while at the same time, a welcoming program was taking place on the crowded Ban Jelacic Square.

Marko Purisic – Baby Lasagna was welcomed at the airport by around a hundred enthusiastic fans chanting “Marko, Marko!”, many of whom had lace table cloth and cat motifs on their shirts. The pilot of the airplane congratulated him on his excellent performance on the flight to Zagreb, greeting him with “meow, meow” and wishing him a happy return home.

Baby Lasagna’s second place with the song “Rim tim tagi dim” is Croatia’s best placement since its independence at the Eurovision Song Contest.

At the welcome ceremony on the main square in Zagreb, on a stage decorated with lace table cloth motifs, Croatian performers from previous Eurovision editions, Let 3, Emilija Kokić, and Tajči accompanied by Ante Gele and the band, performed.

Before the program started, Damir Martinovic Mrle from Let 3 briefly told Hina that whether they won first or second place didn’t matter. “The most important thing is the first place with the audience,” he said, agreeing with Baby Lasagna, who said that he wouldn’t have judges but the audience at his concerts. Mrle reminded that a similar situation happened at the Eurovision last year with Let 3, who received few points from the judges, and praised Lasagna’s song, which “the whole world is now singing”.

Although the Croatian representative received the highest number of audience votes, 337, he received 210 points from the jury, which wasn’t enough for him to win overall.

Purišić went to Eurovision after a convincing victory at this year’s Dora, where he entered as a substitute, and was officially included in the competition after the withdrawal of singer Zse Zse. He is the author of the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”, which has been the top choice of bookmakers and the biggest favorite for victory in Malmö from the beginning. His stage performance was enthusiastically embraced by the audience, who sang and danced along with the recognizable choreography.

He had exceptional support from the entire Croatia before the competition, with the title of the song visible on tram station displays and highways, and crocheted tablets and cat shirts, of which he is a fan, became mandatory fashion accessories.

The Croatian representative advanced to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 as the best in the first semifinal evening, while the winner, Swiss representative Nemo with the song “The Code”, entered the final as the fourth in the second semifinal.

In the final, Nemo won a total of 591 points (365 points from the jury and 226 from the audience), while Baby Lasagna scored 547 points (210 from the jury and 337 from the audience).