Livigno: The initial notable story from the Milano Cortina 2026 event has emerged - and it includes an animated film series, a legal conflict over intellectual property, a reaction on social media, and a passionate Spanish figure skater wearing a yellow shirt and denim overalls.
Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté, 26, has been ice skating to tracks fromMinions – yes, the children’s film serieswith those peculiar small one-eyed yellow troublemakers – from August, during the International Skating Union season, without any problems.
He even outfits himself as one of them for his brief performance.
However, last week, Sabaté was informed that Universal Pictures, the studio responsible forMinions, had raised concerns about "copyright clearance" regarding his use of the music – leading him to make a significant change in plans before his Winter Olympics debut, even though he stated he had completed all required clearances.
Learning about this last Friday, just before the most significant competition of my life, was extremely frustrating, he wrote on Instagram. “Nonetheless, I will tackle this challenge directly and give it my all to turn things around.”
For a skater to quickly develop a new routine with different music is similar to a tennis player being informed on the day of a major tournament that they must alter their serve; it's the movement they have built their entire game around, one that has been deeply embedded in their muscle memory through tens of thousands of practice sessions.
Luckily for Sabaté, the peculiar nature of his routine and his clear fixation onMinions, of all films – combined with the overtly intense action from a major Hollywood production company – resulted in news of his situation spreading widely, causing waves that extended well beyond the small but dedicated figure skating community.
A few days later, the surge of support for him on social media – primarily through the trending phrase "Let the minion skate" – seems to have addressed the problem.
On Tuesday, Sabaté shared positive news with his Instagram followers: Universal had given in to the pressure and permitted him to use the song.
"Massive appreciation to everyone who shared and supported," he wrote on his story.
Due to your influence, Universal Studios has re-evaluated and officially provided the rights for this unique event. I'm thrilled to witness the return of the minions on Olympic ice!
The circumstances have highlighted the challenges of incorporating contemporary music into figure skating, and how athletes are influenced by factors outside the sport – although Sabaté’sMinions accident stands as one of the most severe instances of copyright enforcement ever witnessed.
For many years, skaters didn't face these challenges as they performed to classical music, which was mostly in the public domain and could be used freely. Starting from 2014, the ISU permitted the use of music with lyrics to update the sport – however, the procedure for completing the required steps is unclear and complicated, leading some skaters to experience issues and, in certain instances, legal actions from artists due to not obtaining proper permissions.
It remains uncertain what transpired internally that allowed Sabaté to skate to hisMinionssoundtrack choice proceeding without problems for months, only to have everything taken away from him right before the most significant moment of his career.
Australian figure skaters, as reported by team officials, will not encounter any such problems when the competition starts at the Forum di Milano in Milan from Friday. Australia has qualified four athletes – pairs skaters Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore, and ice dancers Holly Harris and Jason Chan – and they have all successfully submitted their selected music via the ISU.
The sole instance Australians have been involved in music-related figure skating controversy occurred at the Sochi 2010 event, where Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalinwere charged with insulting Aboriginal Australians and stealing their culturewith a performance featuring body suits adorned with white patterns and what looked like brown facial makeup, leading to criticism.
Australia’s ice dancers, Danielle O'Brien and Greg Merriman, also featured an Indigenous-themed initiative during that Olympics, but had sought guidance from elders when developing their dance routines.
The Winter Olympic Championships will be aired on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.
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