Minions Olympics ice skater! What happened with Universal, how to watch
Universal granted the “Minions Olympics ice skater,” Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté, permission to skate to music from the “Minions” movies during the Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Sabaté, who skates for Spain, wears a full Minionbound outfit during his routines: a bright yellow shirt, blue overalls, and an armband with Minion-esque eyes on it, reported by the “Today” show. The athlete is known for accompanying his fashion with matching music: the score from the “Despicable Me” and “Minions” movies composed by Heitor Pereira.
As the Olympics drew nearer, Sabaté seems to have run into a copyright snag with NBCUniversal, parent company of the “Despicable Me” franchise, over the use of the music during his routine.
Sabaté took to his Instagram account with good news: “Huge thank you to everyone who reposted, shared, and supported. Because of you, Universal Studios has reconsidered and officially granted the rights for this one special occasion.”
While Sabaté’s specific schedule is not yet live on the official Olympics website, his sport’s schedule is available, albeit with contradictory information from official sources on how and what time to watch:
- Men Single Skating – Short Program
- Olympics website says this will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 12:30 p.m. ET
- NBC says this will stream live on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 1:45 p.m. ET on Peacock
- Men Single Skating – Free Skating
- Olympics website says this will take place on Friday, Feb. 13, at 1 p.m. ET
- NBC says this will stream live on Friday, Feb. 13, at 3:05 p.m. ET on Peacock and air a replay in primetime on Friday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m. on NBC
The Minions also star in a new promo spot for the Olympic Games, which broadcast and stream in the U.S. via the franchise’s parent company, NBCUniversal. In the commercial, which features new animation created by the film series’ creators at Illumination, the Minions mistake the Winter Games for the Summer Games and run into Chloe Kim, snowboarder for Team USA.
Here’s the full commercial:
In 2024, the Minions famously crashed the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris and stole the Mona Lisa.
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