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

Question

I thought that adding a "value" attribute set on the <select> element below would cause the <option> containing my provided "value" to be selected by default:

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

However, this did not work as I had expected. How can I set which <option> element is selected by default?

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Answer 1

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

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

Answer 2

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>

Answer 3

Complete example:

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