diff --git a/app/__init__.py b/app/__init__.py
index 294053c..0c8a7e3 100644
--- a/app/__init__.py
+++ b/app/__init__.py
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ app.config['BUILD_FOLDER'] = os.path.join(
     app.config['STATIC_FOLDER'], 'build')
 app.config['CACHE_BUSTING_MAP'] = {}
 app.config['LANGUAGES'] = json.load(open(
-    os.path.join(app.config['STATIC_FOLDER'], 'settings/languages.json')))
+    os.path.join(app.config['STATIC_FOLDER'], 'settings/languages.json'),
+    encoding='utf-8'))
 app.config['COUNTRIES'] = json.load(open(
     os.path.join(app.config['STATIC_FOLDER'], 'settings/countries.json')))
 app.config['TRANSLATIONS'] = json.load(open(