diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index d2e5bd9..83a93eb 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ Changelog
 =========
 
 
-5.0.0 (unreleased)
-------------------
+5.0.0a1 (2022-07-11)
+--------------------
 
 Breaking changes:
 
diff --git a/src/icalendar/__init__.py b/src/icalendar/__init__.py
index da1e056..a83cfe6 100644
--- a/src/icalendar/__init__.py
+++ b/src/icalendar/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-__version__ = '5.0.0.dev0'
+__version__ = '5.0.0a1'
 
 from icalendar.cal import (
     Calendar,