diff --git a/patchwork/__init__.py b/patchwork/__init__.py
index 545a53bb..6fb54728 100644
--- a/patchwork/__init__.py
+++ b/patchwork/__init__.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 from patchwork.version import get_latest_version
 
-VERSION = (3, 0, 0, 'alpha', 0)
+VERSION = (3, 0, 0)
 
 __version__ = get_latest_version(VERSION)
 
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/prelude-3_0-5a4905b9df203595.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/prelude-3_0-5a4905b9df203595.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7edaffd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/prelude-3_0-5a4905b9df203595.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+---
+prelude: |
+  There are two main changes in this release: the removal of Python 2.7 support
+  and the resolution of the longstanding performance issues introduced by the
+  ``Submission`` model. On top of this, there is the usual bump in
+  requirements, a significant amount of fixes to the documentation for the
+  REST API, and the squashing of all migrations introduced in versions up to
+  and including v2.2.0.