Shure TwinPlex lavalier used in theme park Astrid Lindgren's World

Key Takeaways

• Astrid Lindgren’s World relies on up to 100 wireless microphone systems daily, making microphone reliability critical to delivering consistent live entertainment experiences.
• Frequent lavalier microphone cable failures created maintenance challenges and replacement costs, prompting the park to evaluate alternative solutions.
• TwinPlex TL47 lavalier microphones were selected for their sound quality, durability, and moisture-resistant cable design, helping support demanding outdoor productions.
• After multiple seasons of use, ALW reported virtually no cable-related failures, reducing maintenance requirements while improving long-term reliability.
• The deployment demonstrates how durable lavalier microphones can support large-scale theme park and live performance environments, where audio consistency is essential. 

Astrid Lindgren’s World (ALW) is one of Sweden’s largest theme parks, welcoming up to 500,000 visitors during a typical summer season. Inspired by the beloved children’s book characters of Astrid Lindgren, the park relies on extensive professional audio infrastructure to support live entertainment across multiple stages.

Benum Sweden has frequently delivered Shure TwinPlex lavalier microphones to Audiosystem, the Kalmer audio company which has been a stable technology supplier to ALW since the 1990s. The company has been an active part of the technical development at ALW since 2003. During the current season, the park operates up to 100 wireless microphone systems and around 10 in-ear monitoring systems across nine stages, choosing TwinPlex for its sound quality and long-term reliability.

Customer Profile

The park is run with great care and respect in the spirit of Astrid Lindgren and in accordance with the values she expressed during her lifetime. The visitor gets to meet her characters and take part in environments and playful scenes taken from the author’s tales and stories.

The audio operation is led by Henrik Schäfer, who has overseen sound at ALW since 2008, and Thomas Dahlström, founder of Audiosystem, a long-time technology partner of the park. Together, they support one of Sweden's largest live entertainment environments.

During the season, approximately 600 people work across the park, including around 150 members of the theatre department. Productions can involve anywhere from three to 30 actors, supported by five sound engineers and roughly 90 microphones deployed daily across multiple stages.

The team has also invested heavily in staff training, microphone handling procedures, maintenance programs, and standardized audio systems. Identical mixing equipment and wireless microphone systems are used throughout the park, allowing sound engineers to move efficiently between venues while maintaining a consistent experience for visitors.

“Generally only lavalier (lavs) microphones are used for all microphone systems. So there are a large number of microphones running every day, and I don’t think there is any other place in Sweden where so many systems coexist daily, for such a long period. This demands great quality products and careful handling of all technology, not least when it comes to something so sensitive and important as lavs. 

“The shows at ALW are one of the cornerstones of the experience a visitor gets to experience and the ALW management really supports our ambitions around the technology as everyone understands that sound experience is an important part of the experience.“ 

ALW Audio Operations at a Glance

• Up to 100 wireless microphone systems
• Around 10 in-ear monitoring systems
• Nine stages across the park
• Approximately 90 microphones deployed daily
• Five sound engineers supporting productions
• Around 150 people in the theatre department 

Challenge: Lavalier Microphone Reliability 

Managing audio for dozens of daily performances requires dependable lavalier microphones and a workflow that minimizes downtime. Despite investing heavily in training, maintenance, and microphone handling procedures, lavalier failures remained a recurring challenge.

To reduce wear and damage, ALW implemented processes that assigned responsibility for each microphone to individual performers. Actors were trained in proper microphone handling and care, while the audio team closely monitored equipment throughout the season. Even with those measures in place, reliability issues continued to create operational and financial challenges.

“But despite this, there were a lot of problems with the microphones. By far the most common fault is cable breakage, which occurs where the cable and contact meet,” explains Henrik.

“We can repair a lot of cable breakage, but some seasons have resulted in 40 percent or more of our lavs being taken out of service due to too weak signal, serious cable breakage or other cause that cannot be remedied. New lavalier microphones had to be bought before each new season and ALW began to think about the high costs of handling, disposal and new purchases."

Common Lavalier Microphone Challenges at ALW

• Frequent cable breakage
• Weak or inconsistent signals
• High maintenance requirements
• Microphones removed from service during the season
• Ongoing replacement and repair costs 

Solution

In 2019, Thomas heard about a new series of lavalier microphones that Shure released: TwinPlex.  

“I took part of the information at the launch of TwinPlex where I noticed that one of the main arguments was a higher reliability over time, a longer life cycle, while maintaining high sound quality,” Thomas explains. “It sounded promising, but I was somewhat skeptical, we already used one of the market’s absolute best microphone model!”

To evaluate the microphones for use at ALW, Thomas and Henrik borrowed a TwinPlex test kit and focused particularly on the TL47 lavalier microphone. Early testing confirmed the sound quality met their expectations, while the microphone's cable construction, strain relief design, and moisture-resistant properties stood out as potential advantages for a demanding live entertainment environment. 

“We quickly realized that the TL47 lavalier was interesting. Measurements and tests of sound quality were satisfactory. 

“We decided on a larger purchase of 20 TwinPlex TL47s. Now it was up to proof, will they last for a season here with us at ALW? It could only be shown after being used out in the business over time. If the TwinPlex microphones turn out to last, say maybe up to three, four or even five times as long compared to previous lavalier alternatives, we would really save ourselves lots of hours that have previously been spent on handling and measures, and in addition the risk of technical issues during the performances would decrease!”

Why ALW Chose TwinPlex

• High sound quality
• Improved cable durability
• Moisture-resistant design
• Flexible, low-profile cable construction
• Potential for longer microphone lifespan
• Reduced maintenance and replacement costs 

THE SEASONS 2020 and 2021

The initial deployment provided an opportunity to evaluate TwinPlex TL47 lavalier microphones under real-world operating conditions. Despite a shortened 2020 season, ALW was able to use the microphones extensively and continue expanding their deployment into 2021. 

“The first delivery of 20 TL47s was put into test immediately and performed really well, but at the same time the pandemic had taken over our society, so it was a rather strange season that was a bit shortened,” says Henrik. 

“In any case, our first batch of TwinPlex lavs was used extensively after all, without any worries. We were very happy so far!

“When the pre-season 2021 started with rehearsals, we decided to continue investing in the TwinPlex TL47 model. We placed more orders and the 2021 season ran fairly normal despite continued restrictions due to the current pandemic, and our TwinPlex lavs have delivered in a very nice way. And now a new season is approaching at ALV where some of our TwinPlex microphones are entering their third season.”

Results After Three Seasons 

After multiple seasons of use, the TwinPlex deployment delivered the long-term reliability ALW had hoped for. The park expanded its investment in TwinPlex TL47 lavalier microphones and continued using them across its daily productions in a demanding outdoor live entertainment environment. 

“Since the start, we’ve purchased another 60s TwinPlex TL47 and we now have 80 TL47s that we continuously use in rain, sunshine and everything in between. The first TL47s have been around for just over two seasons now, which will be a lot of hours in use and the result is ... fantastic! 

“One single microphone may have lost some of its output but we have not had a single "error" due to cable breakage or similar on any of our TL47s,” says Henrik

“We have all technology documented for follow-up for several years, with notes on each individual lavalier that’s been used within ALW. Have a look!”

Henrik maintains detailed records on every lavalier microphone used at ALW. According to those records, no TwinPlex microphones required disposal, repair, or replacement due to the types of issues that had previously affected other lavaliers. 

"Simply a success, there is no other word!"  Thomas exclaims. 

“Yes, really. Above all It’s probably the cable that’s the key here. The whole industry really has to get to know this!” 

FAQ: TwinPlex at Astrid Lindgren's World

Why did Astrid Lindgren's World choose TwinPlex lavalier microphones? The park was looking for a more reliable lavalier microphone solution that could withstand daily use across its live productions while reducing maintenance and replacement needs.

How did TwinPlex perform after multiple seasons of use? After several seasons of operation, ALW reported strong reliability and significantly fewer microphone issues, even with extensive daily use across multiple stages.

What features stood out during the TwinPlex evaluation? ALW was particularly impressed by the microphone's sound quality, flexible cable design, moisture resistance, and the potential for a longer service life compared to previous lavalier microphones.