Ahead of his participation in Dora 2026, Croatia’s selection for Eurovision 2026, Rory was able to speak with Alen Đuras. He is aiming to go to Vienna with his song “From Ashes to Flame”.
Check out our interview with Alen Đuras here!
In the interview, Rory and Alen speak about the inspiration behind his song for Dora 2026, and how he was able to get into the music industry. He also recalls some of his favourite Eurovision moments and recommends some of his previous music if you are interested in discovering more about him and his music.
Who is Alen Đuras?
Alen Đuras is a 33-year-old singer born in the Croatian city of Virovitica. Having lived in various parts of the country, Alen discovered music for himself in high school, where he learned to play the guitar. After being trained in Split, he went on to compete in the Voice of Croatia in 2016, reaching the final. He has also had some brushes with Eurovision, having served as a backing singer for Jacques Houdek in 2017, and competed in Dora 2024 with “A Tamburica Lullaby”. His song for Dora 2026, “From Ashes to Flame”, was written by Ananda herself, as well as Siniša Reljić.
Croatia’s Eurovision journey
Croatia has been a part of the Eurovision family since 1961, as part of Yugoslavia. Ten Croatian artists went on to represent Yugoslavia in the Contest – the most famous of which being Riva, who gave Yugoslavia its only win in 1989. The 1990 Contest was held in Zagreb as a tribute to their Croatian heritage. Croatia debuted in the Contest as an independent nation in 1993 with the band Put and their song “Don’t Ever Cry”. Since then, Croatia has gone on to score as high as 2nd place in 2024.
In 2025, Croatia chose Marko Bošnjak to represent the nation in Basel with his song “Poison Cake”. Performing in the first semi-final, Croatia failed to qualify for the final, placing twelfth with a televote score of 28 points.
What do you think of our interview with Alen Đuras? Who do you think will represent Croatia at Eurovision this year? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Nikola Bakšić
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