diff --git a/eve_orehold_watcher.py b/eve_orehold_watcher.py
index 4dbca2d..71cca6e 100644
--- a/eve_orehold_watcher.py
+++ b/eve_orehold_watcher.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def load_config():
         sys.exit(f"No config.ini found. Copy config.ini.example -> config.ini "
                  f"and edit it.\n(looked in {CONFIG_PATH})")
     cp = configparser.ConfigParser()
-    cp.read(CONFIG_PATH)
+    cp.read(CONFIG_PATH, encoding="utf-8-sig")   # tolerate a UTF-8 BOM
     return cp