diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 849fabfe..47222420 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import setuptools
 
-with open("README.md", "r") as fh:
+with open("README.md", "r", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
     long_description = fh.read()