Game of Thrones to stop filming in Croatia

HBO has dropped Croatia as a filming location for season six of the fantasy drama series Game of Thrones.

“We can confirm that based on story and location needs, Game of Thrones will not be shooting in Croatia for season six,” HBO said in a statement.

The possibility of the series returning in the future remains open, however.

“The question of whether the production will return to Croatia in the future will be decided once additional seasons are officially set by HBO,” reads the statement. “At that time, the production, along with HBO, will assess their location needs based on the scripts and storylines. HBO remains grateful to the [Croatian Audiovisual Center] and the Croatian crew for all of their continued support.”

Game of Thrones seasons two to five were partly shot in Croatia. It was among the first projects to benefit from Croatia’s cash rebate incentive scheme, which was launched in January 2012.

The city of Dubrovnik served as the site of “King’s Landing” during this period. According to some reports, filming will continue in Girona, Spain.

Mayor of Dubrovnik Andro Vlahušić expressed regret that the series would not be filmed in Dubrovnik.

“At the moment we don’t have any official news with regard to the filming of the sixth season. The City of Dubrovnik is grateful to HBO for all it has done for Dubrovnik and Croatia through its engagement of extras, its production and financing, which has brought direct and indirect promotion,” Mr Vlahušić said.