diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 4e39bc1c8c574b37cd0ee86a44eb91424bbc96fc..19ab57c5a2b628a87628f7c145c350799f387110 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-3.0.0_pre5
+3.0.0_rc1