diff --git a/superset/__init__.py b/superset/__init__.py
index 5e77328d662..69ad1f54d14 100644
--- a/superset/__init__.py
+++ b/superset/__init__.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ CONFIG_MODULE = os.environ.get('SUPERSET_CONFIG', 'superset.config')
 if not os.path.exists(config.DATA_DIR):
     os.makedirs(config.DATA_DIR)
 
-with open(APP_DIR + '/static/assets/backendSync.json', 'r') as f:
+with open(APP_DIR + '/static/assets/backendSync.json', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
     frontend_config = json.load(f)
 
 app = Flask(__name__)