diff --git a/represent-map/admin/header.php b/represent-map/admin/header.php
index 06ea6c8..fcf6b07 100644
--- a/represent-map/admin/header.php
+++ b/represent-map/admin/header.php
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 // connect to db
 mysql_connect($db_host, $db_user, $db_pass) or die(mysql_error());
 mysql_select_db($db_name) or die(mysql_error());
+mysql_set_charset('utf8');
 
 // get marker totals
 $total_approved = mysql_num_rows(mysql_query("SELECT id FROM places WHERE approved='1'"));
diff --git a/represent-map/header.php b/represent-map/header.php
index 2b7264e..af3efcd 100644
--- a/represent-map/header.php
+++ b/represent-map/header.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 // connect to db
 mysql_connect($db_host, $db_user, $db_pass) or die(mysql_error());
 mysql_select_db($db_name) or die(mysql_error());
+mysql_set_charset('utf8');
 
 // if map is in Startup Genome mode, check for new data
 if($sg_enabled) {