diff --git a/models/yolo.py b/models/yolo.py
index c196d46f9efa..305f0ca0cc88 100644
--- a/models/yolo.py
+++ b/models/yolo.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ def __init__(self, cfg='yolov5s.yaml', ch=3, nc=None, anchors=None):  # model, i
         else:  # is *.yaml
             import yaml  # for torch hub
             self.yaml_file = Path(cfg).name
-            with open(cfg, errors='ignore') as f:
+            with open(cfg, encoding='ascii', errors='ignore') as f:
                 self.yaml = yaml.safe_load(f)  # model dict
 
         # Define model