‘Mission accomplished’: St Edmund’s flag gets international exposure thanks to Suffolk Eurovision superfan

A Eurovision superfan from Bury St Edmunds achieved his mission of flying the St Edmund flag in front of a global audience.

James Sheen, who runs the popular We Love Bury St Edmunds community Facebook group, was at the front of the live audience in Ukraine for the 2017 song contest.

About three months before he was due to fly out, Mr Sheen decided he would make it his mission to get the St Edmund flag, a variation of the St George’s Cross, on the live television coverage, in front of an audience of millions.

With his ‘golden circle’ tickets, Mr Sheen, who works in the Bury Adnams shop, was in prime position for the cameras.

After dozens of failed attempts, waving his flag at any camera he could see, he finally succeeded in the Grand Final, waving his flag as a camera panned to a set of Spanish fans following their entry’s performance.

“It is absolutely fantastic,” said Mr Sheen. “It was awesome – I can’t believe I actually managed it. I had to wave the flag so much every time I saw a camera.”

Mr Sheen was front and centre for the best British performance at Eurovision since 2011, with Lucie Jones bagging 111 points and 15th place.

“She was brilliant,” he said. “Eurovision fans do not care about Brexit and the politics, it is all about coming together as one big community.

“I switched my allegiance from Croatia to Portugal and they really deserved their win, it was a great song, which is what Eurovision is about.”