diff --git a/devscripts/update-version.py b/devscripts/update-version.py
index ce8d66ee6..f317672c8 100644
--- a/devscripts/update-version.py
+++ b/devscripts/update-version.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 from datetime import datetime
 import sys