diff --git a/django/__init__.py b/django/__init__.py
index 0e21d06b53..b6b72db72a 100644
--- a/django/__init__.py
+++ b/django/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-VERSION = (1, 7, 0, 'beta', 4)
+VERSION = (1, 7, 0, 'rc', 1)
 
 
 def get_version(*args, **kwargs):