Being recognised for something you genuinely love doing is always special. And being named among the Top 3 Master of Ceremonies nominees at the Sakpas Stellaris Awards 2026 is certainly a moment worth celebrating!

The awards, presented by Sakpas Bruidjie, recognise the talented people and businesses who contribute to South Africa’s wedding industry. From photographers and wedding planners to venues, entertainers and Master of Ceremonies, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the people behind those unforgettable wedding days.

More Than Just a Microphone

I’ve always believed that being a Master of Ceremonies is about much more than standing in front of a crowd with a microphone.

It’s about people.

It’s about making guests feel welcome, keeping the programme running smoothly, knowing when to bring the energy and when to step back and let a special moment speak for itself.

Every wedding is different. Every couple has their own story, their own personalities and their own idea of the perfect celebration. Being trusted to play a part in those memories is something I never take for granted.

That’s why this recognition means so much to me.

Celebrating South Africa’s Wedding MC Talent

I was honoured to be named alongside fellow nominees Jaenette Jacobs and David Robinson in the Top 3 Master of Ceremonies category.

Congratulations to both of them on this recognition!

There is so much talent in South Africa’s wedding industry, and it’s wonderful to see the work of MCs being celebrated.

The Sakpas Stellaris Awards Red Carpet Gala took place on 30 October 2026, bringing attention to the people whose creativity, dedication and hard work help make wedding celebrations so memorable.

A Special Moment in My MC Journey

From weddings and corporate events to conferences and special celebrations, every opportunity behind the microphone has helped shape my journey.

Some events call for a little humour, others need a more formal approach, and sometimes the most important thing is simply making people feel comfortable.

But whatever the occasion, my goal stays the same: to connect with people and help create an experience they’ll remember for the right reasons.

Being recognised among the Top 3 MC nominees is a lovely reminder of why I enjoy this work so much.

Thank You for Being Part of the Journey

To everyone who has booked me, worked alongside me, recommended me or supported my journey — thank you!

And to Sakpas Bruidjie for recognising the talented people who make up our wedding industry, thank you for the opportunity to be part of the Stellaris Awards 2026.

Here’s to many more wonderful celebrations, memorable moments and opportunities to bring people together!

Bennum van Jaarsveld

Professional Master of Ceremonies | Wedding MC | Event Host

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Planning a Wedding or Special Event?

Looking for a Master of Ceremonies who brings personality, professionalism and energy to your celebration?

Based in Johannesburg and available across South Africa, I would love to hear more about your event.

Explore my Master of Ceremonies services or get in touch to discuss your event.

Learn more about the wedding industry and Sakpas Bruidjie at www.sakpasbruidjie.co.za.

What Does Success Really Mean? My Top 100 Most Influential Men Journey

Being recognised as one of South Africa’s Top 100 Most Influential Men of 2025 was an incredible honour.

But recognition has a way of making you think about a question that sounds simple until you really try to answer it.

What is success?

Is it an award?

A title?

A career milestone?

A television interview?

Standing on a stage?

For me, success has increasingly come to mean something different.

Success is what you do with the opportunities you’ve been given — and whether those opportunities allow you to make a difference beyond yourself.

From the Eastern Cape to Johannesburg

My journey certainly wasn’t mapped out from the beginning.

Originally from the Eastern Cape, I studied BCom Law at what is now Nelson Mandela University before my professional journey eventually took me into communications, public relations, media, marketing, branding and business.

That career placed me in situations where communication mattered.

Representing organisations, working with media, delivering messages and speaking to different audiences gradually developed another skill and opened another door.

Public speaking.

That eventually became part of my work as a professional Master of Ceremonies, presenter, facilitator and speaker.

None of those individual moments looked particularly dramatic at the time.

But looking back, each one contributed to the next.

Being named among South Africa’s Top 100 Most Influential Men

In 2025, I was honoured to be recognised as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Men in South Africa.

NovaNews subsequently shared more of my story, covering the journey from my Eastern Cape beginnings and corporate communications career to public speaking, pageantry and community involvement.

Read the NovaNews feature on my Top 100 Most Influential Men recognition

It was wonderful recognition.

But it also raised another question for me.

What does influence actually mean?

Influence and fame are not the same thing

I’ve come to believe that influence isn’t about how many people know your name.

It’s about whether you can change something.

Sometimes that change is enormous.

Sometimes it affects a community.

And sometimes it simply means helping one person.

My involvement in community upliftment has repeatedly reminded me of this.

When you’re exposed to the realities faced by people who are worrying about things as basic as their next nutritious meal, titles and achievements quickly find their proper place.

They can be valuable.

They can create opportunities.

They can give you a platform.

But the important part is what you choose to do with that platform.

I believe strongly in creating environments where people can develop a sense of ownership, dignity and pride.

Real change isn’t simply about doing something for a community.

Where possible, it should help people become part of changing their own circumstances.

What does success mean?

This subject also became part of my Global Leaders interview, produced by Big M Productions.

The conversation explored leadership, believing in yourself, community upliftment and my own understanding of success.

Watch my Global Leaders interview

For me, success isn’t one achievement.

It’s certainly not one award.

Success is being able to look at where you started, understand the work it took to move forward and then find a way to use what you’ve learnt to contribute something useful.

It is believing in yourself — even when the next step isn’t obvious.

It is remaining willing to learn.

It is recognising opportunities when they arrive.

And it is remembering that influence without purpose doesn’t mean very much.

Bringing purpose into professional life

These lessons follow me into my professional work as well.

Being a Master of Ceremonies is, on the surface, about hosting an event.

But the role is ultimately built around people.

A professional MC needs to understand the message an organisation is trying to communicate, connect with an audience, create the right atmosphere and give other people the space to tell their stories.

Whether I’m hosting a corporate conference, moderating a panel discussion, speaking at an event or working with a community initiative, that human connection remains the common thread.

Recognition is wonderful. Impact matters more.

I’m enormously grateful for the recognition of being included among the Top 100 Most Influential Men in South Africa in 2025.

It’s one of those moments I’ll always be proud of.

But perhaps the biggest value of recognition is that it reminds you not to stop.

There is always more to learn.

More to contribute.

More people to encourage.

And more opportunities to use whatever influence you have responsibly.

So, what is success?

My answer today is fairly simple:

Believe in yourself. Keep moving. Help where you can. And leave the people and places you encounter a little better than you found them.

That, to me, is success.

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Professional Master of Ceremonies and Speaker

Bennum is available as a Master of Ceremonies, moderator, facilitator and presenter for corporate events, conferences, launches and functions throughout South Africa.

Find out more about Bennum Master of Ceremonies

Some journeys are about winning.

Others remind you how much you are capable of becoming.

My Mister Global South Africa 2025 journey did exactly that.

In July 2025, while competing as a Mister Global South Africa finalist, I had the privilege of joining Graeme Richards on the Expresso Show to talk about the competition, the journey that had brought me back onto the pageant stage and some of the things that matter to me beyond it.

For me, Mister Global South Africa was never simply about walking onto a stage.

It was about challenging myself again.

Returning to pageantry years later

My relationship with pageantry started many years earlier.

In 2009, I competed in Mr South Africa, finishing in the Top 5 and receiving the Businessman of the Year Award.

Then life moved on.

My corporate career developed through communications, public relations, media, marketing and business. My work as a professional Master of Ceremonies grew, and new opportunities and challenges arrived.

Years later, I found myself facing the opportunity to step onto the competition stage again.

This time I was older.

Hopefully wiser.

Definitely more experienced.

And far more comfortable with who I was.

Mister Global South Africa 2025

Returning to a national competition after so many years required discipline and a willingness to become uncomfortable again.

That was part of the attraction.

It’s very easy to tell people to keep challenging themselves.

It’s another thing entirely to do it yourself.

The journey ultimately ended with me finishing in the Top 3 as second runner-up at Mister Global South Africa 2025.

But the value of the experience went far beyond a placing.

It reminded me that growth doesn’t have an age limit and that sometimes the best way to discover what you’re capable of is to put yourself in a position where you have something new to prove — mostly to yourself.

My Expresso Show interview with Graeme Richards

One of the memorable moments of the journey was appearing on the Expresso Show with Graeme Richards.

Our conversation touched on the Mister Global South Africa journey and the broader experiences that had brought me to that point.

For someone whose professional life involves communication, presenting and connecting with audiences, sitting down on a national television programme offered a very different perspective.

It was also a chance to talk about something I believe strongly:

Success needs to have purpose beyond yourself.

Watch my Mister Global South Africa interview on the Expresso Show

More than appearance

Pageantry is often viewed from the outside as being largely about appearance.

For me, the experience represented much more.

It was about discipline, communication, confidence, personal growth and purpose.

It was also about the way we use whatever platform we’re fortunate enough to have.

Community upliftment has remained important to me throughout my personal and professional life.

I believe influence carries responsibility.

Whether that means supporting community initiatives, creating awareness, helping where you can or encouraging someone to believe that their current circumstances don’t have to determine their future, there should be something beyond the title or the photograph.

That belief affects the way I approach community projects, speaking engagements and my work as a Master of Ceremonies in South Africa.

The value of starting again

There is something powerful about starting again when you’re no longer a beginner.

You arrive with experience, but you also arrive with expectations.

You have to be willing to put those aside.

Mister Global South Africa reminded me that there will always be another challenge to take on, another area in which to grow and another opportunity to become better at what you do.

From returning to the pageant stage, to appearing on the Expresso Show, to eventually standing among the Top 3 of Mister Global South Africa 2025, the journey became one of the highlights of an already unexpected career.

And perhaps the biggest lesson was simple:

You are never too established, too old or too far down another road to challenge yourself again.

Sometimes your second act surprises you.

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From the competition stage to the event stage

Today, Bennum works as a Master of Ceremonies, wedding MC, presenter, moderator and facilitator, hosting corporate and private events across South Africa.

Explore Bennum’s Master of Ceremonies services