diff --git a/src/tools/openmpi/openmpi.c b/src/tools/openmpi/openmpi.c
index fa89d3f946..22724729cb 100644
--- a/src/tools/openmpi/openmpi.c
+++ b/src/tools/openmpi/openmpi.c
@@ -293,6 +293,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	    /* put info on the registry */
 
+fprintf(stderr, "openmpi: entering event loop\n");
 	    /* event loop */
 	    ompi_event_loop(0);
 	}