diff --git a/lib/mysqlred.py b/lib/mysqlred.py
index 19b77e2..b4529d7 100644
--- a/lib/mysqlred.py
+++ b/lib/mysqlred.py
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ url = URL( "mysql+pymysql",
            password=config.db_password,
            host=config.db_hostname,
            port=config.db_port,
-           database=config.db_username + jogobot.config['db_suffix'] )
+           database=config.db_username + jogobot.config['db_suffix'],
+           query={'charset': 'utf8'} )
 
 engine = create_engine(url, echo=True)