diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 0fef70f1f..f31fde55d 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ except ImportError:
     print("warning: pypandoc module not found, could not convert Markdown to RST")
 
     def read_md(f):
-        return open(f, 'r').read()
+        return open(f, 'r', encoding='utf-8').read()
 
 
 def get_version(package):