Where the Night Hands Over to the Morning
You are standing on Petra Zoranića Square as the countdown dissolves into the first hour of 1 January 2027. The stage lights are still on, the crowd is still thick, and Nina Badrić has just finished a set drawn from more than three decades of Croatian pop and R&B. What follows is the Big CroDance Party, a musical-stage show that revives the Croatian dance scene of the 1990s with a full cast of dancers and production — Grupa ET, Simplicia, Senna M, Ilan Kabiljo and Alka Vuica among the performers. Stay where you are. The square is the centre of the city's New Year programme, and the night does not end at midnight.
Follow the Programme Across the City
Zadar's New Year celebrations are not confined to a single square. They unfold across multiple city locations as part of Advent in Zadar, the season-long event that officially opens on 24 November 2026 — the feast of St. Krševan and Zadar's City Day. The programme has been designed to spread across as many locations as possible, enlivening the walking route from Pet bunara to the Forum. That route is your spine for the night: start at Pet bunara, move through the old town, and let the crowds carry you toward the Forum and the main stage.
- Petra Zoranića Square — the main stage, hosting the headline concert and the CroDance show.
- Zadar Market — the setting for the "Božići gramofon" programme, with Psihomodo Pop, the rock band led by Davor Gobac, performing.
- The Pet bunara–Forum route — the city's stated aim is to enliven this whole stretch, so walk it rather than sticking to one spot.
The Zadar Tourist Board has said the full Advent programme, including novelties for the season, will be presented at a later date. Check back closer to the winter for the confirmed schedule of what happens where.
What to Expect on the Day Itself
The published programme details New Year's Eve — the doček — rather than specific events on 1 January. What you can rely on is the shape of the season: Advent in Zadar runs from late November through the holidays, with the city's squares and market hosting music, food and crowds throughout. On New Year's Day itself, expect the old town to be quiet in the morning and to fill again as people emerge. The market area around the "Božići gramofon" programme is where the seasonal food and drink stalls cluster; that is where you will find the holiday crowd through the season. Treat the day as a continuation of the night before: the same locations, the same route from Pet bunara to the Forum, at a slower pace.
When to Go and How to Plan Around It
The season begins on 24 November 2026, so if you want the full Advent atmosphere rather than just the New Year itself, arrive in late November or December and stay through the first days of January. New Year's Eve is the peak — the Nina Badrić concert and the CroDance Party on Petra Zoranića Square, Psihomodo Pop at Zadar Market. New Year's Day is the aftermath: the same streets, the same squares, with the market and the old town as your anchors. Because the Tourist Board presents the full programme later in the season, the specific line-up for 1 January 2027 is not yet fixed in the published sources — but the city's pattern of celebrating across multiple locations, from Pet bunara to the Forum, is what you are planning around.
Start with the dates: 24 November 2026 for the opening of Advent, and the night of 31 December into 1 January for the main event. Book your stay in or near the old town so the route from Pet bunara to the Forum is walkable, and keep an eye on the Zadar Tourist Board's programme announcement as winter approaches. The city has told you where it will be — the squares, the market, the streets between the two — and that is enough to begin.