diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index e9ff14a03..5ed58ca9c 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -1,12 +1,76 @@
-Unreleased
-==========
+Synapse 1.27.0rc1 (2021-02-02)
+==============================
 
 Note that this release includes a change in Synapse to use Redis as a cache ─ as well as a pub/sub mechanism ─ if Redis support is enabled. No action is needed by server administrators, and we do not expect resource usage of the Redis instance to change dramatically.
 
-This release also changes the callback URI for OpenID Connect (OIDC) identity
-providers. If your server is configured to use single sign-on via an
-OIDC/OAuth2 IdP, you may need to make configuration changes. Please review
-[UPGRADE.rst](UPGRADE.rst) for more details on these changes.
+This release also changes the callback URI for OpenID Connect (OIDC) identity providers. If your server is configured to use single sign-on via an OIDC/OAuth2 IdP, you may need to make configuration changes. Please review [UPGRADE.rst](UPGRADE.rst) for more details on these changes.
+
+
+Features
+--------
+
+- Add an admin API for getting and deleting forward extremities for a room. ([\#9062](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9062))
+- Add an admin API for retrieving the current room state of a room. ([\#9168](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9168))
+- Add experimental support for allowing clients to pick an SSO Identity Provider ([MSC2858](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2858)). ([\#9183](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9183), [\#9242](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9242))
+- Add an admin API endpoint for shadow-banning users. ([\#9209](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9209))
+- Add ratelimits to the 3PID `/requestToken` APIs. ([\#9238](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9238))
+- Add support to the OpenID Connect integration for adding the user's email address. ([\#9245](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9245))
+- Add ratelimits to invites in rooms and to specific users. ([\#9258](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9258))
+- Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on. ([\#9262](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9262), [\#9272](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9272), [\#9275](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9275), [\#9276](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9276), [\#9277](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9277), [\#9286](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9286), [\#9287](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9287))
+- Add phone home stats for encrypted messages. ([\#9283](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9283))
+- Update the redirect URI for OIDC authentication. ([\#9288](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9288))
+
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- Fix spurious errors in logs when deleting a non-existant pusher. ([\#9121](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9121))
+- Fix a long-standing bug where Synapse would return a 500 error when a thumbnail did not exist (and auto-generation of thumbnails was not enabled). ([\#9163](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9163))
+- Fix a long-standing bug where an internal server error was raised when attempting to preview an HTML document in an unknown character encoding. ([\#9164](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9164))
+- Fix a long-standing bug where invalid data could cause errors when calculating the presentable room name for push. ([\#9165](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9165))
+- Fix bug where we sometimes didn't detect that Redis connections had died, causing workers to not see new data. ([\#9218](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9218))
+- Fix a bug where `None` was passed to Synapse modules instead of an empty dictionary if an empty module `config` block was provided in the homeserver config. ([\#9229](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9229))
+- Fix a bug in the `make_room_admin` admin API where it failed if the admin with the greatest power level was not in the room. Contributed by Pankaj Yadav. ([\#9235](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9235))
+- Prevent password hashes from getting dropped if a client failed threepid validation during a User Interactive Auth stage. Removes a workaround for an ancient bug in Riot Web <v0.7.4. ([\#9265](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9265))
+- Fix single-sign-on when the endpoints are routed to synapse workers. ([\#9271](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9271))
+
+
+Improved Documentation
+----------------------
+
+- Add docs for using Gitea as OpenID provider. ([\#9134](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9134))
+- Add link to Matrix VoIP tester for turn-howto. ([\#9135](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9135))
+- Add notes on integrating with Facebook for SSO login. ([\#9244](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9244))
+
+
+Deprecations and Removals
+-------------------------
+
+- The `service_url` parameter in `cas_config` is deprecated in favor of `public_baseurl`. ([\#9199](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9199))
+- Add new endpoint `/_synapse/client/saml2` for SAML2 authentication callbacks, and deprecate the old endpoint `/_matrix/saml2`. ([\#9289](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9289))
+
+
+Internal Changes
+----------------
+
+- Add tests to `test_user.UsersListTestCase` for List Users Admin API. ([\#9045](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9045))
+- Various improvements to the federation client. ([\#9129](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9129))
+- Speed up chain cover calculation when persisting a batch of state events at once. ([\#9176](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9176))
+- Add a `long_description_type` to the package metadata. ([\#9180](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9180))
+- Speed up batch insertion when using PostgreSQL. ([\#9181](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9181), [\#9188](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9188))
+- Emit an error at startup if different Identity Providers are configured with the same `idp_id`. ([\#9184](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9184))
+- Improve performance of concurrent use of `StreamIDGenerators`. ([\#9190](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9190))
+- Add some missing source directories to the automatic linting script. ([\#9191](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9191))
+- Precompute joined hosts and store in Redis. ([\#9198](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9198), [\#9227](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9227))
+- Clean-up template loading code. ([\#9200](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9200))
+- Fix the Python 3.5 old dependencies build. ([\#9217](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9217))
+- Update `isort` to v5.7.0 to bypass a bug where it would disagree with `black` about formatting. ([\#9222](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9222))
+- Add type hints to handlers code. ([\#9223](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9223), [\#9232](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9232))
+- Fix Debian package building on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial). ([\#9254](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9254))
+- Minor performance improvement during TLS handshake. ([\#9255](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9255))
+- Refactor the generation of summary text for email notifications. ([\#9260](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9260))
+- Restore PyPy compatibility by not calling CPython-specific GC methods when under PyPy. ([\#9270](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/9270))
+
 
 Synapse 1.26.0 (2021-01-27)
 ===========================
diff --git a/changelog.d/9045.misc b/changelog.d/9045.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 7f1886a0d..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9045.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add tests to `test_user.UsersListTestCase` for List Users Admin API.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/9062.feature b/changelog.d/9062.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index 8b950fa06..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9062.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add admin API for getting and deleting forward extremities for a room.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9121.bugfix b/changelog.d/9121.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index a566878ec..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9121.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix spurious errors in logs when deleting a non-existant pusher.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9129.misc b/changelog.d/9129.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 7800be3e7..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9129.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Various improvements to the federation client.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9134.doc b/changelog.d/9134.doc
deleted file mode 100644
index 04120918c..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9134.doc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add docs for using Gitea as OpenID provider.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9135.doc b/changelog.d/9135.doc
deleted file mode 100644
index d11ba70de..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9135.doc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add link to Matrix VoIP tester for turn-howto.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9163.bugfix b/changelog.d/9163.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index c51cf6ca8..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9163.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix a long-standing bug where Synapse would return a 500 error when a thumbnail did not exist (and auto-generation of thumbnails was not enabled).
diff --git a/changelog.d/9164.bugfix b/changelog.d/9164.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index 1c54a256c..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9164.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix a long-standing bug where an internal server error was raised when attempting to preview an HTML document in an unknown character encoding.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9165.bugfix b/changelog.d/9165.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index 58db22f48..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9165.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix a long-standing bug where invalid data could cause errors when calculating the presentable room name for push.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9168.feature b/changelog.d/9168.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index 8be1950ee..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9168.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add an admin API for retrieving the current room state of a room.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/9176.misc b/changelog.d/9176.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 9c41d7b0f..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9176.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Speed up chain cover calculation when persisting a batch of state events at once.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9180.misc b/changelog.d/9180.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 69dd86110..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9180.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add a `long_description_type` to the package metadata.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9181.misc b/changelog.d/9181.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 7820d09cd..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9181.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Speed up batch insertion when using PostgreSQL.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9183.feature b/changelog.d/9183.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index 3bcd9f15d..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9183.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add experimental support for allowing clients to pick an SSO Identity Provider ([MSC2858](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2858)).
diff --git a/changelog.d/9184.misc b/changelog.d/9184.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 70da3d6cf..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9184.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Emit an error at startup if different Identity Providers are configured with the same `idp_id`.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9188.misc b/changelog.d/9188.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 7820d09cd..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9188.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Speed up batch insertion when using PostgreSQL.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9190.misc b/changelog.d/9190.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 1b0cc56a9..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9190.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve performance of concurrent use of `StreamIDGenerators`.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9191.misc b/changelog.d/9191.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index b4bc6be13..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9191.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add some missing source directories to the automatic linting script.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/9198.misc b/changelog.d/9198.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index a6cb77fbb..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9198.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Precompute joined hosts and store in Redis.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9199.removal b/changelog.d/9199.removal
deleted file mode 100644
index fbd2916cb..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9199.removal
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-The `service_url` parameter in `cas_config` is deprecated in favor of `public_baseurl`.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9200.misc b/changelog.d/9200.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 5f239ff9d..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9200.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Clean-up template loading code.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9209.feature b/changelog.d/9209.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index ec926e8eb..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9209.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add an admin API endpoint for shadow-banning users.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9217.misc b/changelog.d/9217.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 72bacc711..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9217.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix the Python 3.5 old dependencies build.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9218.bugfix b/changelog.d/9218.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index 577fff549..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9218.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix bug where we sometimes didn't detect that Redis connections had died, causing workers to not see new data.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9222.misc b/changelog.d/9222.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 37490717b..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9222.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Update `isort` to v5.7.0 to bypass a bug where it would disagree with `black` about formatting.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/9223.misc b/changelog.d/9223.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 9d44b621c..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9223.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add type hints to handlers code.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9227.misc b/changelog.d/9227.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index a6cb77fbb..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9227.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Precompute joined hosts and store in Redis.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9229.bugfix b/changelog.d/9229.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index 3ed32291d..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9229.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix a bug where `None` was passed to Synapse modules instead of an empty dictionary if an empty module `config` block was provided in the homeserver config.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/9232.misc b/changelog.d/9232.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 9d44b621c..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9232.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add type hints to handlers code.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9235.bugfix b/changelog.d/9235.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index 7809c8673..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9235.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix a bug in the `make_room_admin` admin API where it failed if the admin with the greatest power level was not in the room. Contributed by Pankaj Yadav.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9238.feature b/changelog.d/9238.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index 143a3e14f..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9238.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add ratelimited to 3PID `/requestToken` API.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9242.feature b/changelog.d/9242.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index 3bcd9f15d..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9242.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add experimental support for allowing clients to pick an SSO Identity Provider ([MSC2858](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2858)).
diff --git a/changelog.d/9244.doc b/changelog.d/9244.doc
deleted file mode 100644
index 2ad81429f..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9244.doc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add notes on integrating with Facebook for SSO login.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9245.feature b/changelog.d/9245.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index b9238207e..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9245.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add support to the OpenID Connect integration for adding the user's email address.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9254.misc b/changelog.d/9254.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index b79b9abbd..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9254.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix Debian package building on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial).
diff --git a/changelog.d/9255.misc b/changelog.d/9255.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index f723b8ec4..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9255.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Minor performance improvement during TLS handshake.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9258.feature b/changelog.d/9258.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index 0028f42d2..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9258.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add ratelimits to invites in rooms and to specific users.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9260.misc b/changelog.d/9260.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 0150e10ea..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9260.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Refactor the generation of summary text for email notifications.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9262.feature b/changelog.d/9262.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index c21b197ca..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9262.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9265.bugfix b/changelog.d/9265.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index 34f7bd8dd..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9265.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Prevent password hashes from getting dropped if a client failed threepid validation during a User Interactive Auth stage. Removes a workaround for an ancient bug in Riot Web <v0.7.4.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/changelog.d/9270.misc b/changelog.d/9270.misc
deleted file mode 100644
index 908e5ee78..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9270.misc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Restore PyPy compatibility by not calling CPython-specific GC methods when under PyPy.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9271.bugfix b/changelog.d/9271.bugfix
deleted file mode 100644
index ef30c6570..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9271.bugfix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix single-sign-on when the endpoints are routed to synapse workers.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9272.feature b/changelog.d/9272.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index c21b197ca..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9272.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9275.feature b/changelog.d/9275.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index c21b197ca..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9275.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9276.feature b/changelog.d/9276.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index c21b197ca..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9276.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9277.feature b/changelog.d/9277.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index c21b197ca..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9277.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9283.feature b/changelog.d/9283.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index 54f133a06..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9283.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add phone home stats for encrypted messages.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9286.feature b/changelog.d/9286.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index c21b197ca..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9286.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9287.feature b/changelog.d/9287.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index c21b197ca..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9287.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Improve the user experience of setting up an account via single-sign on.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9288.feature b/changelog.d/9288.feature
deleted file mode 100644
index efde69fb3..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9288.feature
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Update the redirect URI for OIDC authentication.
diff --git a/changelog.d/9289.removal b/changelog.d/9289.removal
deleted file mode 100644
index 49158fc4d..000000000
--- a/changelog.d/9289.removal
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Add new endpoint `/_synapse/client/saml2` for SAML2 authentication callbacks, and deprecate the old endpoint `/_matrix/saml2`.
diff --git a/synapse/__init__.py b/synapse/__init__.py
index 93601dbad..06b3820be 100644
--- a/synapse/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/__init__.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     pass
 
-__version__ = "1.26.0"
+__version__ = "1.27.0rc1"
 
 if bool(os.environ.get("SYNAPSE_TEST_PATCH_LOG_CONTEXTS", False)):
     # We import here so that we don't have to install a bunch of deps when