How can I set the default value for an HTML <select> element?

Complete example:

<select name="hall" id="hall"> 
  <option> 
    1 
  </option> 
  <option> 
    2 
  </option> 
  <option selected> 
    3 
  </option> 
  <option> 
    4 
  </option> 
  <option> 
    5 
  </option> 
</select> 

In case you want to have a default text as a sort of placeholder/hint but not considered a valid value (something like "complete here", "select your nation" ecc.) you can do something like this:

<select>
  <option value="" selected disabled hidden>Choose here</option>
  <option value="1">One</option>
  <option value="2">Two</option>
  <option value="3">Three</option>
  <option value="4">Four</option>
  <option value="5">Five</option>
</select>

I came across this question, but the accepted and highly upvoted answer didn't work for me. It turns out that if you are using React, then setting selected doesn't work.

Instead you have to set a value in the <select> tag directly as shown below:

<select value="B">
  <option value="A">Apple</option>
  <option value="B">Banana</option>
  <option value="C">Cranberry</option>
</select>

Read more about why here on the React page.

Set selected="selected" for the option you want to be the default.

<option selected="selected">
3
</option>