diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index 9a95983d87..611bdd5bff 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,3 +1,34 @@
+2026.05-rc1, released May 12th, 2026
+
+	Fixes all over the tree and new features.
+
+	Architecture:
+	- ARM Neoverse-V1/V2/V3/V3AE cores added
+	- Default x86 CPU variant is now i686 (from i586)
+
+	Toolchain:
+	- Support for Linux 7.0.x headers
+	- ARM external toolchains bumped to 15.2.rel1
+
+	Filesystem:
+	- Support for XFS rootfs generation.
+
+	Misc:
+	- generate-cyclonedx now adds source attribute to known
+	  CVEs for better compatibility with Dependency-Track.
+
+	New defconfigs: AMD Versal VPK120, TI j721e starter kit (TDA4VM-SK)
+
+	New packages: cxxopts, drm-info, ftxui, go-bootstrap-stage5,
+	iniparser, libnss-ato, libzippp, ndctl, opendoas,
+	python-cloudpickle, python-deprecation,
+	python-farama-notifications, python-gymnasium,
+	python-humanfriendly, python-isodate, python-transitions,
+	sbctl, ugetty, zix
+
+	Removed packages: cegui, openswan, pcre, rubix, snort,
+	spinxbase
+
 2026.02.1, released April 21, 2026
 
 	Changes with potentially large impact:
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 092e84b32a..25c93333d3 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -92,9 +92,9 @@ all:
 .PHONY: all
 
 # Set and export the version string
-export BR2_VERSION := 2026.05-git
+export BR2_VERSION := 2026.05-rc1
 # Actual time the release is cut (for reproducible builds)
-BR2_VERSION_EPOCH = 1772611600
+BR2_VERSION_EPOCH = 1778593000
 
 # Save running make version since it's clobbered by the make package
 RUNNING_MAKE_VERSION := $(MAKE_VERSION)
diff --git a/docs/website/download.html b/docs/website/download.html
index c21bd69a35..7e1462bbb3 100644
--- a/docs/website/download.html
+++ b/docs/website/download.html
@@ -16,6 +16,32 @@
           <th>Latest release date</th>
           <th colspan="2">Downloads</td>
         </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <th>Candidate</th>
+          <th>2026.05.x</th>
+          <td>September 2026</td>
+          <td>
+            2026.05-rc1<br/>
+            <a href="https://gitlab.com/buildroot.org/buildroot/-/blob/2026.05-rc1/CHANGES">
+              Changelog
+            </a>
+          </td>
+          <td>2026-05-12</td>
+          <td>
+            <a href="/downloads/buildroot-2026.05-rc1.tar.gz">
+              <img src="images/zip.png" width="24" alt="">
+              .tar.gz
+            </a><br/>
+            <a href="/downloads/buildroot-2026.05-rc1.tar.gz.sign">[PGP sig]</a>
+          </td>
+          <td>
+            <a href="/downloads/buildroot-2026.05-rc1.tar.xz">
+              <img src="images/package.png" width="24" alt="">
+              .tar.xz
+            </a><br/>
+            <a href="/downloads/buildroot-2026.05-rc1.tar.xz.sign">[PGP sig]</a>
+          </td>
+        </tr>
         <tr>
           <th>Stable</th>
           <th>2026.02.x</th>
diff --git a/docs/website/news.html b/docs/website/news.html
index 373240c92e..fb2ecd527b 100644
--- a/docs/website/news.html
+++ b/docs/website/news.html
@@ -9,6 +9,27 @@
 <h2>News</h2>
 <ul class="timeline">
 
+  <li class="timeline-inverted">
+    <div class="timeline-badge"><i class="glyphicon glyphicon-thumbs-up"></i></div>
+    <div class="timeline-panel">
+      <div class="timeline-heading">
+	<h4 class="timeline-title">2026.05-rc1 released</h4>
+	<p><small class="text-muted"><i class="glyphicon glyphicon-time"></i>12 May 2026</small></p>
+      </div>
+      <div class="timeline-body">
+	<p>We have a new release candidate! Lots of changes all over the tree, see the
+          <a href="https://gitlab.com/buildroot.org/buildroot/-/blob/2026.05-rc1/CHANGES">CHANGES</a>
+          file for more details.</p>
+
+	<p>Go to the <a href="/downloads/">downloads page</a> to pick up the
+          <a href="/downloads/buildroot-2026.05-rc1.tar.xz">2026.05-rc1
+            release</a>, and report any problems found to the
+          <a href="support.html">mailing list</a> or
+          <a href="https://gitlab.com/buildroot.org/buildroot/-/issues">bug tracker</a>.</p>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  </li>
+
   <li class="timeline">
     <div class="timeline-badge"><i class="glyphicon glyphicon-thumbs-up"></i></div>
     <div class="timeline-panel">