Spanish figure skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate secured the rights to perform his Minions-themed program at the Milan Cortina Games hours before he was set to skate.
Those mischievous Minions will have their Olympic moment after all.
Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate obtained the final approval he needed for his music on Friday, allowing the Spanish figure skater to perform his short program — set to a medley from the animated comedy of the same name from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment — when the men’s competition begins at the Milan Cortina Games on Tuesday night.
Sabate had been performing the fan-favorite program all season, thinking he had the proper approval through a system called ClicknClear to use four cuts of music Minions. Last week, Universal Studios asked for him to provide more details on the music Sabate was using and the Minions-inspired outfit that he had been wearing.
He was able to quickly get approval for two cuts of music, and Sabate obtained a third by reaching out directly to the artist, a fellow Spaniard. The holdup was the song “Freedom” by the American musician and producer Pharrell Williams.
That approval finally came Friday, about two hours before the Olympic figure skating program opened with the team event.
“I’m so happy to announce that we’ve done it! We’ve secured the licenses for all four songs, and I’ll be able to skate the Minions at the Olympic Games”, Sabate wrote on social media. “It hasn’t been an easy process, but the support of everyone who has followed my case has been key to keeping me motivated and optimistic these past few days.
