diff --git a/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py b/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py
index b1a6f6e9c..1c3c157c7 100644
--- a/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ class ChannelLogger(callbacks.Plugin):
             try:
                 name = self.getLogName(channel)
                 logDir = self.getLogDir(irc, channel)
-                log = open(os.path.join(logDir, name), 'a')
+                log = open(os.path.join(logDir, name), encoding='utf-8', mode='a')
                 logs[channel] = log
                 return log
             except IOError: