Roko takes 'The Dream' for Croatia to stage for first rehearsal

07 May 2019 at 10:38 CEST

Roko represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019 EBU / Thomas Hanses

Roko has completed his first rehearsal of 'The Dream' for Croatia on stage in Tel Aviv. There were plenty of surprises in store as Roko and his dancers appear with giant gold wings for their performance. His 2 angels dance between the video screen and the stage effortlessly as Roko delivers his song in English and Croatian.

Roko will take to the stage 10th in the second Semi-Final on Thursday 16 May at Expo Tel Aviv in Israel.

Roko was born on 10 March 2000 in Split, Croatia and graduated from fourth gymnasium 'Marko Marulić' in Split. Roko started his music career at an early age and besides singing, he has been playing the piano since he was 7 years old. Over the years, he has participated in many national and international festivals and music reality shows.

The Croatian singer became nationally recognised in 2011 through Croatia's Got Talent. But one of his greatest achievements is reaching the final of another big tv talent show in 2018 and coming second. Roko was mentored during the series by Jacques Houdek, a member of the jury and Croatia's 2017 Eurovision Song Contest entrant with My Friend. Jacques is one of the writers of Roko's song The Dream.

READ MORE: Roko's participant profile

What happens on stage?

Roko's performance begins with him laying on the stage. He has angel wings set in the underfloor video screen. As the camera turns, we see fire and meteors crashing and lava flows down in the LED screens before 2 angels fall to the stage on the screens. Soon, the angels appear on stage for real and Roko gets real wings of his own over his white jeans, jacket and t-shirt. White is definitely the colour of choice for participants this year.

As the song progresses, the fires and lava fade and Roko and his angels are seen flying away through clouds towards an emerging blue sky on the video screen. Roko performs the song in both English and Croatian.

Did you know?

Our Presenting Partner MyHeritage discovered through DNA research that Roko is 91.7% European but has ancestry from north-west Europe and is 1.3% Middle Eastern in his DNA make-up?