Sunday marks one year since MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
The Boeing was carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations including Christchurch father of two Paul Weeks and Auckland man Ximin Wang.
The memorial event, with the theme 'never forget; never give up; keep praying for MH370; search on', has been organised by Voice370 - the next of kin family support group which Mr Weeks wife Danica is involved with.
"Nobody knows their fate, what happened to them or where they are. It is an occasion for the families to express their feelings for their loved ones and to remind the world that in the interest of aviation safety, there is a compelling need to find the truth to enable appropriate remedial action," a Voice370 spokesperson said.
In a statement the group vowed "to do everything in our collective power to ensure that the airplane and our loved ones are found".
"Somehow, despite the passage of so much time, it is unlikely that we will know anything more on the anniversary about the final moments of the flight - nor our family members' whereabouts - than we did almost a year ago.
"The situation is horrifically unprecedented. The search efforts have been futile; not a single piece of wreckage from the airplane has been found."
The victims' families were angry that despite a lack of physical evidence, the Malaysian government had officially declared the aircraft crashed, leaving no survivors.
"We do not accept this finding and we will not give up hope until we have definitive proof of what happened to MH370," Voice370 said.
"The news that MH370 had gone missing was devastating to hear, not only for our families but for caring people the world over. Over the following days, weeks and months our families were subjected to a disorganised barrage of information from varied sources, much of which later proved to be incorrect.
The group implored authorities to continue searching.
"Finding MH370 is important not only for humanitarian reasons, but also to discover out what caused the airplane to disappear... We will not be able to move forward with our lives until we find them or, at the very least, discover what happened to them on that fateful March day."
The families also wanted to thank the world for supporting them.
"We sincerely thank the many nations who have contributed to the search,the individuals who have dedicated themselves to finding the airplane and the countless people around the world who have expressed their good wishes and sympathies as we endure this tragic circumstance."
The remembrance day will include prayers and tributes to the missing from around the world via videolink as well as musical memorials and the signing of a "Search On" banner by VIPS, family and friends of the missing.