The Nice Jazz Festival (, NEESS), held annually since 1948 in Nice, on the French Riviera, is "the first jazz festival of international significance." At the inaugural festival, Louis Armstrong and his All Stars were the headliners. Frommer's calls it "the biggest, flashiest, and most prestigious jazz festival in Europe." From 1974 it was known as La Grande Parade du Jazz; in 1980 the name changed to JVC Nice Jazz Festival; since 1993 it has been known as the Nice Jazz Festival.