2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series normal 16 teams) was spread out over a three-day period. The series' tournaments are identical to 2007–2008 and span the globe: The 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens was not a part of the 2008-09 series. Unlike the 2005 edition held in Hong Kong, the 2009 edition did not replace one of the 2008-09 series events. The World Cup was held in Dubai from March 5–7, 2009 and won by Wales. Prior to the season, the IRB announced the 12 "core teams" that would receive guaranteed berths in each event in the 2008–09 series: The one new core team was the
Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Contest. Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Croatia selected its entry for the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest through the "Dora 2003" contest, which was held between 7 and 9 March 2003, organised by the Croatian national broadcaster Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT). The winner was Claudia Beni with "Više nisam tvoja". HRT organised the Dora contest to select the Croatian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, held in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. This was the 11th edition of Dora, held in Opatija. The national contest consisted of two televised semi-finals with 12 songs each held on 7 and