Miso Kovac Farewell: Sibenik, Poljud and Mirogoj

Sibenik will say goodbye to Miso Kovac on Monday, November 2, at 5 p.m., in the square between St. James Cathedral and City Hall. The singer died on Saturday, October 31, at his home in Split, aged 84. A source confirmed to Telegraf that he will be buried in Zagreb, not in his hometown.

News of his death first rang out at Poljud, as we have already reported. In front of nearly 12,000 people, the stadium announcer said “Miso Kovac has died” and stopped the song playing for Hajduk’s players, after which his songs were played over the speakers. The moment was especially emotional when the stadium began to sing “Tonight we will tell the earth, as we would a mother.”

When and where will people say goodbye to Miso Kovac?

The schedule is still being put together, and the sources differ on one point. This is what is known so far:

• Sibenik: Monday, November 2, at 5 p.m., in front of St. James Cathedral. Local musicians called the gathering.
• Split: A farewell at Poljud stadium was confirmed to Jutarnji list by Ivica Bubalo, Kovac’s longtime manager. Index.hr, citing Dalmatinski portal, reports that Poljud is scheduled for Tuesday, while Dalmacija News writes that the farewell in Split takes place on Monday in the early afternoon, after which the remains go on to Sibenik. The exact hour was due to be announced on Sunday.
• Zagreb: Burial at Mirogoj. The date has not yet been announced.

In their call, the Sibenik musicians wrote:

Dear fellow musicians, dear fellow citizens, our Mate Miso Kovac has left us, a legend of Croatian music, the pride of Sibenik and Dalmatia, whose songs will live forever in our hearts. We call on all musicians, friends, admirers and citizens of Sibenik to gather on Monday in the square between St. James Cathedral and City Hall. Together we will pay our last respects to our Miso in song, a man whose voice marked generations. We call on everyone to join us and to show together how much Miso meant to his Sibenik.

On September 25, 1993, Bubalo organized the famous “Night of Candles” concert at Poljud, dedicated to Kovac’s son Edi and to fallen Croatian defenders. Tportal reports that more than 40,000 people gathered then, while Kurir says he sang in front of 50,000. Split’s musicians, Jutarnji list reports, agree that Dalmatia should say goodbye at exactly that place.

Where will Miso Kovac be buried?

In Zagreb, next to his son. Several sources name Mirogoj cemetery, where Edi Kovac rests. He died in April 1992 as a sixteen-year-old volunteer, and the circumstances of his death have never been fully explained.

The exact spot is not yet known. Kurir earlier reported that the Alley of Greats or Mirogoj were being considered, and Telegraf writes that it is unclear whether the grave will be in the Alley of Greats or in the military section of the cemetery, where Edi is also buried.

Who is coming to the funeral?

His former wife Anita Baturina, a onetime Miss Yugoslavia, told Slobodna Dalmacija that she will attend the farewell together with their daughter Ivana. They married in 1973, Edi was born two years later and Ivana in 1977, and they divorced in 1996. Kovac later married Lidija Pintaric, with whom he stayed until the end of his life.

“I’m going, yes. I have to be there for Ivana. I have respect for Miso, it’s natural that I will go to the funeral,” Baturina told Slobodna Dalmacija. About her daughter she added: “She was very attached to Miso. This is a huge shock.”

Croatian football official Zdravko Mamic posted on Instagram a joint photo from a hospital room in which he holds Kovac by the hand, along with a long farewell message. It begins by recalling that Kovac was born on July 16, the same day as he was, 18 years earlier. Mamic writes:

Just as you were my idol in song and looks, I received selfless and unconditional support from you in all my battles for a strong Dinamo and strong Croatian football. You defended me, you admired me, even though I have never met a bigger fan of my rival Hajduk than you.

In the same message Mamic says: “You were my idol and icon, and no party could go by without your song being sung.”

Kovac’s last major concert took place in Split on June 5, 2022, on Stari plac, in front of about 30,000 people, under the title “Only the sky can part us.” His granddaughter Elena joined him on stage. The date of the burial at Mirogoj has not been announced yet.