Opatija's Walk Of Fame

Opatija's new attraction, a Hollywood-style Walk of Fame dedicated to great Croatian stars, sportsmen, scientists and artists, was launched last week at a presentation by the mayor of Opatija and a representative from Elite magazine, which founded the project. Hrvatska ulica slavnih - the Croatian Street of the Glorious - will run along Slatina beach, and the first stars are set to be unveiled on 18 March.

The slavni have been divided into four categories: the arts, sports, science and so-called 'Elite stars'. Two figures in each category - one living and one dead - have been chosen for the launch of the Walk of Fame, and the same number will be added every year, with one category announced every three months.

The inaugural slavni are Miroslav Krleža, Nikola Tesla, the geneticist Miroslav Radman, the late basketballer Dražen Petrović, the other late basketballer Krešimir Ćosić, the 100-year-old poet Dragutin Tadijanović (still in the living category, at that), the Dalmatian singer Oliver Dragojević, and - of course - somebody or other by the name of Janica Kostelić.

As the project develops, it'll be interesting to see who's counted as Croatian and glorious enough to make it on to the Walk of Fame, and who isn't. (Tesla, a Serb born in the Lika region of Croatia, is the most likely of this octet to cause debate in one or other quarter.) Local singer-songwriter and Novi list columnist Dražen Turina-Šajeta has already taken the opportunity of his birthday to put up his own star on an Opatija billboard.