diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index d5d0604..2e757c8 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 import re
 import os
 import sys
+import codecs
 
 
 
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@
 license = 'BSD'
 install_requires = ["django>=1.8"]
 
-with open('README.md') as f:
+with codecs.open('README.md', encoding='utf-8') as f:
     readme = f.read()