diff --git a/wagtail/__init__.py b/wagtail/__init__.py
index b0c5750a28..d2414b7cd6 100644
--- a/wagtail/__init__.py
+++ b/wagtail/__init__.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ from wagtail.utils.version import get_semver_version, get_version
 
 # major.minor.patch.release.number
 # release must be one of alpha, beta, rc, or final
-VERSION = (1, 8, 0, 'alpha', 0)
+VERSION = (1, 8, 0, 'rc', 1)
 
 __version__ = get_version(VERSION)
 
diff --git a/wagtail/project_template/requirements.txt b/wagtail/project_template/requirements.txt
index d2feb8c25b..8c0920b9ec 100644
--- a/wagtail/project_template/requirements.txt
+++ b/wagtail/project_template/requirements.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 Django>=1.10,<1.11
-wagtail==1.8a0
+wagtail==1.8rc1