diff --git a/.bumpversion.cfg b/.bumpversion.cfg
index 73edb0674..603559089 100644
--- a/.bumpversion.cfg
+++ b/.bumpversion.cfg
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [bumpversion]
-current_version = 1.8.0b2
+current_version = 1.8.0rc1
 parse = (?P<major>[\d]+) # major version number
 	\.(?P<minor>[\d]+) # minor version number
 	\.(?P<patch>[\d]+) # patch version number
diff --git a/.changes/1.8.0-rc1.md b/.changes/1.8.0-rc1.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4aa0b2a73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/1.8.0-rc1.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+## dbt-bigquery 1.8.0-rc1 - May 03, 2024
+
+### Fixes
+
+- Fix dbt.string_literal for BQ when there are newlines ([#1088](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1088))
+- Stop adding aliases to render_limited output ([#1190](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1190))
+
+### Under the Hood
+
+- Update dependabot config to cover GHA ([#1176](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1176))
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump dorny/paths-filter from 2 to 3 ([#1179](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1179))
+- Bump actions/github-script from 6 to 7 ([#1180](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1180))
+- Bump dbt-labs/actions from 1.1.0 to 1.1.1 ([#1181](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1181))
+- Bump actions/checkout from 3 to 4 ([#1183](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1183))
+- Bump actions/setup-python from 4 to 5 ([#1182](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1182))
+
+### Contributors
+- [@b-per](https://github.com/b-per) ([#1088](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1088))
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155228.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155228.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155228.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155228.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155237.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155237.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155237.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155237.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155246.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155246.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155246.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155246.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155354.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155354.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155354.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155354.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155355.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155355.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Dependencies-20240412-155355.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Dependencies-20240412-155355.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20240205-102954.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Fixes-20240205-102954.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20240205-102954.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Fixes-20240205-102954.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Fixes-20240423-131752.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Fixes-20240423-131752.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Fixes-20240423-131752.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Fixes-20240423-131752.yaml
diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Under the Hood-20240410-182121.yaml b/.changes/1.8.0/Under the Hood-20240410-182121.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from .changes/unreleased/Under the Hood-20240410-182121.yaml
rename to .changes/1.8.0/Under the Hood-20240410-182121.yaml
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 62c0bc82a..c22552df7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,29 @@
 - "Breaking changes" listed under a version may require action from end users or external maintainers when upgrading to that version.
 - Do not edit this file directly. This file is auto-generated using [changie](https://github.com/miniscruff/changie). For details on how to document a change, see [the contributing guide](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-changelog-entry)
 
+## dbt-bigquery 1.8.0-rc1 - May 03, 2024
+
+### Fixes
+
+- Fix dbt.string_literal for BQ when there are newlines ([#1088](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1088))
+- Stop adding aliases to render_limited output ([#1190](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1190))
+
+### Under the Hood
+
+- Update dependabot config to cover GHA ([#1176](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1176))
+
+### Dependencies
+
+- Bump dorny/paths-filter from 2 to 3 ([#1179](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1179))
+- Bump actions/github-script from 6 to 7 ([#1180](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1180))
+- Bump dbt-labs/actions from 1.1.0 to 1.1.1 ([#1181](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1181))
+- Bump actions/checkout from 3 to 4 ([#1183](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1183))
+- Bump actions/setup-python from 4 to 5 ([#1182](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1182))
+
+### Contributors
+- [@b-per](https://github.com/b-per) ([#1088](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/issues/1088))
+
+
 ## dbt-bigquery 1.8.0-b2 - April 03, 2024
 
 ### Features
@@ -29,8 +52,6 @@
 
 - Pin `black>=24.3` in `dev-requirements.txt` ([#1151](https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-bigquery/pull/1151))
 
-
-
 ## dbt-bigquery 1.8.0-b1 - March 01, 2024
 
 ### Features
diff --git a/dbt/adapters/bigquery/__version__.py b/dbt/adapters/bigquery/__version__.py
index 7d16c28f0..037ac1faf 100644
--- a/dbt/adapters/bigquery/__version__.py
+++ b/dbt/adapters/bigquery/__version__.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-version = "1.8.0b2"
+version = "1.8.0rc1"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index c972e6e5a..e95276871 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def _dbt_bigquery_version() -> str:
 
 
 package_name = "dbt-bigquery"
-package_version = "1.8.0b2"
+package_version = "1.8.0rc1"
 description = """The BigQuery adapter plugin for dbt"""
 
 setup(