diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ddbae7a46..73d06406f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [5.0.0-rc1] - 2023-08-08
+
 ### Added
 - Added support for PHP8.2
 - Added a new way to extend Smarty functionality using `Smarty::addExtension()` or `Smarty::setExtensions()`. Please see the docs for more information.
diff --git a/src/Smarty.php b/src/Smarty.php
index 08d580bf9..bb27ff9d9 100644
--- a/src/Smarty.php
+++ b/src/Smarty.php
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ class Smarty extends \Smarty\TemplateBase {
 	/**
 	 * smarty version
 	 */
-	const SMARTY_VERSION = '5.0.0';
+	const SMARTY_VERSION = '5.0.0-rc1';
 
 	/**
 	 * define caching modes