diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index 7dcb0879c4..5419b3d682 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -3554,6 +3554,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
                 break;
             case QEMU_OPTION_show_cursor:
                 cursor_hide = 0;
+                dpy.has_show_cursor = true;
+                dpy.show_cursor = true;
                 break;
             case QEMU_OPTION_uuid:
                 if (qemu_uuid_parse(optarg, &qemu_uuid) < 0) {