Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023

The Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023 was the 53rd edition of the annual Melodije Istre i Kvarnera, a song contest held annually in multiple towns in the Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties of Croatia. The show was held between 19 and 24 June 2023, and presented by Lena Stojiljković and Borna Šmer. Andrej Baša served as the artistic director for the competition.

Format
The 2023 edition of the Melodije Istre i Kvarnera festival had four host cities/munincipalities; Opatija, Rijeka, Barban and Krk. The four host cities would organize five nights with Krk hosting the last two shows with the grand final. The artistic director for the competition was Andrej Baša.

Each of the ticket holders for the live shows received a voting ballot where they could cast their votes for the main public's award. Each night, after all performances, the top 3 placed songs of the current show were revealed with the general ranking winner being announced on the last night in Krk.

On 27 March 2023, all competing entries and host cities were revealed. The main show consisted of 18 competing entries. 17 of them were sung in Croatian (mainly in the Chakavian dialect) and one entry had its lyrics in Italian.

Awards
Additional to the main award, these awards were given out:
 * Best New Artist
 * Critic's Choice
 * Čakavski Sabor Award for Best Lyrics
 * "Nello Milotti" Award for Best Traditional Production
 * Radio Istra Award for Best Song Production
 * Radio Rijeka Award for Best Vocal Performance

First night
The first show was held in Opatija.

Second night
The second show was held in Rijeka.

Third night
The third night was held in Barban.

Fourth night
The fourth night was held in Krk. It served as a main dress rehearsal prior to the final thus no voting occurred.

Fifth night
The fifth and final night was held in Krk.

Special guests
The special guests of Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023 included:


 * Singers / musicians: Gianluca Draguzet, Damir Kedžo, Vesna Nežić-Ružić, Sergio Pavat, Danijel Rubeša, Mauro Staraj, Nikolina Tomljanović

Official album
Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023. is the official compilation album of the contest. It was released by Melody Records in CD format on 9 June 2023. The album features studio versions of all 18 entries.

The album debuted at number 33 on the Croatiand Albums Chart issued weekly by Top lista. It charted for a total of two weeks making it the festival's first compilation album to chart.