diff --git a/lib/ceilometer b/lib/ceilometer
index f6280d9..04f68ac 100644
--- a/lib/ceilometer
+++ b/lib/ceilometer
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@
 
     if is_service_enabled mysql postgresql; then
         if [ "$CEILOMETER_BACKEND" = 'mysql' ] || [ "$CEILOMETER_BACKEND" = 'postgresql' ] ; then
-            recreate_database ceilometer utf8
+            recreate_database ceilometer
             $CEILOMETER_BIN_DIR/ceilometer-dbsync
         fi
     fi