Edwards was informed of his qualification for the games while working as a plasterer and residing temporarily in a Finnish mental hospital due to lack of funds for alternative accommodation (rather than as a patient). He first represented Great Britain at the 1987 World Championships in Oberstdorf in Bavaria, West Germany and was ranked 55th in the world. This performance qualified him as the sole British applicant, for the 1988 Winter Olympics ski jumping competition.

During the 1988 Winter Olympics, Edwards competed in and finished last in both the 70 m and 90 m events. In the 70 m, he scored 69.2 points from two jumps of 55 m; second-last Bernat Solà Pujol of Spain scored 140.4 points from 71 m and 68.5 m jumps; winner Matti Nykänen of Finland had 229.1 points from 89.5m jumps. In the 90 m, Edwards scored 57.5 points from 71 m and 67 m jumps; second-last Todd Gilman of Canada had 110.8 points from 96 m and 86.5 m; Nykänen won again, with 224 points from 118.5 m and 107 m.

The widespread attention that Edwards received in Calgary was embarrassing to some in the ski jumping establishment. In 1990, shortly after the Olympics finished, the entry requirements were strengthened in order to make it nearly impossible for anyone to follow his example: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) instituted what became known as the Eddie the Eagle Rule, which requires Olympic hopefuls to compete in international events and be placed in the top 30% or the top 50 competitors, whichever is fewer.

Edwards appeared in a number of advertising campaigns, e.g. on television, promoting cars, and commanded fees of £10,000 an hour. Nevertheless, he declared bankruptcy in 1992, claiming that a trust fund for his earnings was not set up properly. In 2003, he graduated from De Montfort University in Leicester with a degree in law. "I've been interested in law since taking out a civil action against my trustees 10 years ago," he said in a 2001 interview.

A film chronicling the life story of Edwards had been planned by Irish Director Declan Lowney since 2007. Comedian Steve Coogan was originally chosen for the title role. Edwards was said to be pleased with the choice but also joked that Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise would be better suited for the role. In 2009, Lowney announced that Rupert Grint would instead play the part. The film was scheduled to begin production once Grint completed work on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, but it did not go ahead.

On 13 February 2008, Edwards made a return visit to Calgary to take part in festivities marking the twentieth anniversary of the Games. During his visit, he rode the zip-line at Canada Olympic Park with a member of the Jamaican bobsled team (the ride simulates the speed of a ski-jumper) and led a procession of skiers down the slopes of the park while carrying an Olympic torch.

Edwards was chosen as a torchbearer in the relay for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He ran with the torch on 7 January 2010 in Winnipeg.

In 2011, he returned to Planica in Slovenia and visited one of the biggest ski jumps in the world. For the first time, he brought his family with him under the ski slopes and made a promotion video, "Eddie 'the Eagle' Lands in Slovenia", while visiting places such as Kranjska Gora, Lake Bled, Ljubljana, Postojna Caves, Lipica, Portorož and Piran. The video was later posted on YouTube and many UK websites. Edwards described the visit to Slovenia as one of the family's nicest trips so far.

On 25 February 2012, he appeared as a competitor on episode 2 of BBC1's Let's Dance for Sport Relief, 2012 and got through to the final on most public votes. His performances were accompanied by the Royal British Legion Band & Corps Of Drums Romford.

On 23 December 2014, it was reported that Gary Barlow was in talks to write the entire Soundtrack for the film. On 23 January 2015, it was reported that Edwards might perform the Stunts in the movie about his life.

Matthew Vaughn produced and Dexter Fletcher directed the biopic, starring Taron Egerton as Edwards, and Hugh Jackman as his trainer. The film, Eddie the Eagle, was released in early 2016.

In 2017 he returned to the ski jumping facilities at Canada Olympic Park, where he took part in the Olympics in 1988, to make some jumps that were his first in over 15 years.