Spanish male figure skater Guarino Sabate performs to the theme song from the animated movie ‘Minions‘ at the 2026 International Skating Union (ISU) European Championships held in January. Yonhap News|AP News
Spanish male figure skater Guarino Sabate performs to the theme song from the animated movie ‘Minions’ at the 2026 International Skating Union (ISU) European Championships held in January. Yonhap News|AP News
Guarino Sabate (27), a popular Spanish male figure skating star, dramatically regained his minions just before losing them.
Sabate is a leading star of Spanish figure skating, having won the Spanish Championships six times. He became very popular with ice skating fans around the world with a single short program in which he performed a comical performance wearing a yellow top and denim overalls like a Minion, to the theme song of the animated movie Minions.
They also planned to showcase the Minions program at the 2026 Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, their first Olympics. However, just before the opening, we were informed that the music could not be used due to copyright issues.
Savate has already paid the licensing fee through a program that manages music copyrights in accordance with International Skating Union (ISU) regulations. However, with the Olympics just around the corner, I was informed that without Universal Pictures’ explicit consent, there was a possibility that I would be embroiled in a large-scale lawsuit in the future. We suddenly faced a crisis where we had to replace the program. At the time, Sabate said, “I have completed all necessary procedures to use the music without issue and have been using this music throughout the season. I am very disappointed to hear this news ahead of the biggest competition of my life.”
Then the public moved. Savate’s skating video post tagged ‘Let the minions skate’ spread like a trend on social media. Ultimately, the situation was resolved when Universal Pictures, which holds the copyright to the Minions theme song, officially allowed the use of Sabate’s music.
In an interview with a foreign media outlet, Sabate said, “I had been growing increasingly attached to the Minions short program throughout this season, so going through this situation was especially difficult. I was excited about being able to present this program on the biggest stage and letting people know that classic skating is not everything.”
The issue of music rights copyright in figure skating is not something that happens in a day or two. Petr Gumenik from Russia, who is participating in this tournament as an individual neutral player, recently changed his program twice. Following the OST of the movie ‘Perfume: A Murderer’s Story’, without permission to use the OST of the movie ‘Dune’, they entered the competition with Edgar Hakovian’s ‘Waltz 1805’. The Olympic men’s single short event will be held early in the morning on the 11th.
date: 2026-02-09 03:35:00
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